State health officials call for ban on large gatherings
Kevin Bronson on
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* Updated at 7:30 p.m. Thursday
** Updated as of 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 18
The coronavirus pandemic — anointed as such by the World Health Organization on Wednesday — is already wreaking havoc on the sports world, educational institutions, convention business and all manner of large public gatherings. But thus far, the Los Angeles-area live music scene has barely slowed, with the notable exception of the postponement of the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals.
Major and midsize venues were full, or nearly so, for popular shows the past few days, but that could change depending on whether concert promoters and venues heed a recommendation issued late Wednesday by the California Department of Public Health, which said, in part:
“Large gatherings that include 250 people or more should be postponed or canceled. This includes gatherings such as concerts, conferences and professional, college and school sporting events. Smaller gatherings held in venues that do not allow social distancing of six feet per persons hould be postponed or canceled. This includes gatherings in crowded auditoriums, rooms or other venues.”
Earlier Wednesday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health reported the first death from the coronavirus, a woman older than 60 who had traveled to Korea. “It’s time to start thinking about limiting activities” that risk “a lot of exposure to the general public,” the department’s director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, said. “If you are a person who is older and you have underlying health conditions or you have a serious immunocompromised system, or you are a pregnant woman or you are just aging, this is the time to avoid all nonessential travel, this is the time to stop going to events where there are large groups of people gathering, this is the time to stop going to the theater or concerts or sporting events.”
While other hard-hit urban areas such as Seattle and San Francisco (where Tame Impala’s show has been canceled) have taken aggressive steps to limit public gatherings, it has only begun to happen on L.A.’s live music landscape. [* updated]
LiveNation today announced a suspension of touring arena shows through the end of the month, Billboard reported. Billie Eilish has postponed 11 dates on the East Coast and in the Midwest, but there has been no dispensation yet on her Forum shows in April.
Meanwhile, Goldenvoice has not yet announced the fate of the Goldenvoice Present April shows — the series of 30-plus concerts featuring artists who were scheduled to play Coachella. With the festival being pushed back to the fall, it is not known yet whether those shows will be moved as well.
Major postponements and cancellations would obviously be a huge financial blow for what has been a robust Southern California live music industry, not just for the promoters, venues and artists but for the people — security, bartenders, engineers — who work the shows. Most are freelancers.
Here’s what we know so far (updates listed with * and **):
Single show/festival cancellations/postponements (alphabetical):
■ **Aaron Neville at the Rose on Friday, March 13, has been postponed to September 12 and moved to the Canyon Montclair.
■ * L.A. quartet the Airborne Toxic Event has canceled a four-night residency of sold-out shows that was due to begin March 31 at the El Rey Theatre.
■ **AKUA at Union Station, Friday, March 13, presented by Metro Art for their Rush Hour series, is postponed.
■ **Beachlife Festival on May 1-3 is postponed.
■ **Beauty and the Knee with Mid-City Opry at Fais Do Do is canceled.
■ * This Sunday’s “Celebration of the Life of Kim Shattuck” at the El Rey Theatre has been postponed.
■ **Celine Dion is rescheduling all dates from her world tour between March 24 through April 27, including her April 2 & 3 appearance at the Staples Center.
■ **Cosmo Gold at Permanent Records Roadhouse (fka Club NELA) on Sunday, March 15, is canceled.
■ **Beauty and the Knee with Mid-City Opry at Fais Do Do is canceled.
■ **Cruel World Festival at Dignity Health Sports Park is postponed from May 2 to September 12.
■ **Delicate Steve is moving all shows on the West Coast leg of his tour, rescheduling his March 14 show at the Hi Hat to November 13 at the Satellite.
■ The boutique Desert Stars festival, which was scheduled March 27-28 in Joshua Tree, has been rescheduled for Sept. 25-26. Almost all of the lineup, including headliner Mercury Rev as well as Alex Maas of Black Angels, Ringo Deathstarr and Twink, has confirmed for the new dates, said festival founder Tommy Dietrick.
■ **Detlef at the Sound Nightclub on Saturday, March 14, was postponed.
■ E3 2020 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo), the video-game industry conference scheduled for June 9-11 at the Los Angeles Convention Cnter, has been canceled. Also, RuPaul’s DragCon L.A. 2020, set for May 1-3, has been postponed.
■ **Eros Ramazzotti at the Forum on Saturday, March 14, is canceled.
■ **Eyelids at Gold-Diggers (early show) on Saturday, March 14, is canceled.
■ **Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons at the Fred Kavli Theatre on Friday, March 13, has been postponed to Sept 11.
■ **Le Face, NIIS, Slaughterhouse and Freakees at NPU will be livestreamed only on Instagram.
■ **G. Love & Special Sauce and Jontavious Willis at the Coach House on Friday, March 14, is canceled.
■ **Japan Nite on March 28 with Kyuso Nekokami, The Tomboys, Uchikubi Gokumon Dokoukai, & Kali Kazoo at the Hi Hat has been canceled.
■ **Jessie Payo et al at Zephyr Theatre is postponed.
■ AFI’s Tribute to Julie Andrews, originally scheduled for April 25, has been postponed.
■ **Katalyst Collective’s subscriber show on Friday, March 20, is postponed.
■ **Lightning in a Bottle from May 20-25 at Buena Vista Lake is cancelled.
■ **Lovers & Friends Fest at Dignity Health Sports Park on May 8 & 9 is postponed.
■ **M3: Maceo Plex, Maetrik (Live), Mariel Ito at El Pueblo (on Saturday, March 14) is postponed and Maceo Plex and Doc Martin will be livestreamed at @TheFactory93 on Instagram instead.
■ Singer-actress Meg Donnelly has postponed the entirety of her “Trust” tour, which included an April 26 date the Roxy.
■ **The Motels at the House of Blues in Anaheim on Friday, March 13, is postponed.
■ The MUSEXPO Creative Summit, scheduled for March 22-25 in Burbank, has been postponed indefinitely.
■ Niyaz at Royce Hall on June 27 has been postponed.
■ Pearl Jam have postponed their Gigaton tour shows at the Forum on April 16 and 17. Unaffected, so far, are the multi-night runs at the Forum by Billie Eilish and the Eagles, also in April.
■ **Post Malone at the Toyota Arena in Ontario on Tuesday, March 17, is canceled.
■ **PrettyMouth and Würm on Saturday, March 14, at the Sardine were cancelled.
■ **Rebel Souljahz at the Glass House on Friday, March 13, is canceled.
■ **Rubix Kube LA at the Whisky a Go Go on Saturday, March 14, is canceled.
■ **Rusty Tinder and Ryan Howe at Genghis Cohen on Friday, March 13, is postponed.
■ **Shannon Lay and Boy Scouts at Zebulon on Saturday, March 14, is postponed.
■ * The Strokes’ show at the Forum, which was scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed until May 29.
■ **The White Buffalo at Pappy & Harriet’s on Friday, March 13, is postponed.
■ * Wilco’s April 1 and 2 shows at the Orpheum and the April 5 date at the Palladium have been postponed.
Venue/Promoter cancellations/postponements (alphabetical):
■ **Alex’s Bar has actually added a second show with The Mummies and Thee Cormans (Saturday, March 14) and is encouraging some Friday attendees to transfer their tickets to the second day to lighten the crowd for both shows.
■ * Amoeba Records has canceled all in-store performances through the end of the month.
■ **The Avalon has postponed this weekend’s shows with Kap Slap (Friday, March 13) and Coming Soon!!! (Saturday, March 14).
■ **Bootleg Theater: Inara George and Larry Goldings’ musical “Letters to Margaret Sanger” and performance on Friday, March 13, is postponed. LOVE IS GAY Fest 2020 with Polartropica and more on Friday, March 14, is canceled. Screaming Females with Alice Bag and Generación Suicida on Sunday, March 15, is canceled. Harmless on Wednesday, March 28, is postponed. Jett Kwong on Thursday, March 19 is rescheduled to Friday, April 24. *Australia’s Jack River has canceled their March 24 show and Adam Green has canceled his tour that included a March 25 stop at the venue.
■ * The Broad Stage in Santa Monica has postponed six shows between now and the end of March.
■ **The Coach House is closed through April 1.
■ **Garden Amp: Gorilla Biscuits, H20 and Death By Stereo, a celebration of Bad Brains, is postponed from March 21 to June 27. Sagey, Jagged Baptist Club, World War and Muir is canceled.
■ * Goldenvoice has announced that their SoCal venues — the Fonda Theatre, the El Rey, the Novo, the Shrine Expo Hall and the Roxy have been closed “until the dates specified by state and local officials.”
■ * The Grammy Museum has announced it be closed through the end of March. Events are postponed.
■ **Some shows at the Hi Hat have postponed or canceled: Charger on Sunday, March 15, is postponed; Potty Mouth on Tuesday, March 17, is canceled.
■ **Hollywood Palladium: Hayley Kiyoko on Friday, March 13, is canceled as well as Flogging Molly on Tuesday, March 17.
■ **House of Blues Anaheim: nearly all shows are postponed through the end of March, including Lauren Sanderson (Saturday, March 14), Trippie Redd (postponed from Satuday March 14 to Friday, June 26), Melanie Martinez (Tuesday, March 17), Leilani Wolfgramm (Thursday, March 19), Brittany Howard (Friday, March 20), Snoh Aalegra (Wednesday, March 25), Dan Luke & the Raid (also Wednesday, March 25), Silverstein (Saturday, March 28), The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (also Saturday, March 28), as well as Chippendales (Sunday, March 29, ahem). Morgan Mallory & Crosscut Delux (Saturday, March 14) and Noche De Rock en Español w/Tribute to Maná (Friday, March 27) are canceled.
■ **Junior High will be closed as of Monday, March 16, until further notice.
■ * The Los Angeles Philharmonic has canceled all events scheduled for Walt Disney Concert Hall through March 31 **(more info). In addition, the Music Center announced the closure of all its theaters (Ahmanson Theatre, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum and Disney Hall), affecting performances by the LA Phil, LA Opera, Center Theatre Group and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, through the end of the month. Also, the Musco Center at Chapman College has canceled all performances for the next eight weeks.
■ * Largo has postponed all shows through March 20.
■ **Lodge Room has now postponed most of their March shows, including Telefon Tel Aviv on Friday; Ata Kak on March 21; Caterina Barbieri on March 24; and Sasami on March 28. Work Drugs on Saturday is canceled.
■ **McCabe’s Guitar Shop has postponed all events through the end of March.
■ **The Microsoft Theater has postponed Teo Gonzalez & Jorge Falcon on Friday, March 13, and Pancho Barraza on Saturday, March 14.
■ **The Mint: Distant Cousins on Saturday, March 14 and Paul Thorn on Friday, March 20 were cancelled.
■ **Molly Malone’s is closed through March 31.
■ * Most of the Moroccan Lounge’s shows through March 26 have been either postponed or canceled.
■ * Promoter Nederlander Concerts has postponed the following SoCal concerts: Kansas, March 19 at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks (rescheduled for Dec. 2); The Fab Four, March 20, at City National Grove of Anaheim (new date: May 22); Amy Grant, March 24, at the City National Grove of Anaheim; The Growlers’ three-night run March 25-27 at City National Grove of Anaheim.
■ **The Redwood Bar and the Exchange LA have postponed this weekend’s shows.
■ **Saint Rocke has postponed all shows scheduled through March 28.
■ **The Satellite has canceled all shows through Sunday, March 22.
■ **All School Nights at Bardot are canceled through June 1.
■ **All shows at the Smell until at least the end of March are canceled “after much gut-wrenching consideration for the past 24 hours” after Governor Newsom’s announcement on Wednesday.
■ * Spaceland Presents has postponed the following shows: Eric Nam, tonight and Saturday at the Regent; Dan Deacon on Friday at the Regent, **Annie Taylor, Friday at the Echo (canceled); Lords of Acid, Friday at the Echoplex; Pussy Riot, Friday at 1720; Burgerama, Saturday at the Echo/Echoplex; Music of Grateful Dead for Kids, Sunday at the Echoplex; Baby Rose, Sunday at the Echo; Hot Chelle Rae, Sunday at the Regent; HTRK & Dry Cleaning, Sunday at the Echoplex (canceled); In The End (A Celebration of Chester) March 19 at the Regent; AJJ & Xiu Xiu March 20 at the Regent; The Mattson 2 on March 20 at the Echo Tommy Cash, March 24 at the Echoplex; Algiers, March 24 at the Echo; Squirrel Flowr, March 25 at the Echo (canceled); Fleshgod Apocalypse, April 6 at the Regent. **The St. Patty’s Day Party with The Walker Roaders and Hoist the Colors on Tuesday, March 17, is canceled.
■ * The Teragram Ballroom postponed Thursday’s Delta Spirit show — and the rest of the shows on their calendar for the rest of March.
■ * The Troubadour has announced the postponement of all shows through the end of March. Included: **Spencer Sutherland (from March 12 to May 19), Amanda Shires **(from March 14 to tba), **Busty & the Bass (from March 13 to June 19- Juneteenth), **Jonathan McReynolds, Christ Rep. (from March 15 to June 7), Lauren Sanderson (from 03/16/20 to 08/20/20), Dorian Electra, four sold-out shows with the Tallest Man on Earth, **David Archuleta and **HRVY (from March 18 to Sept 30).
■ All CAP UCLA performances taking place on the UCLA campus (Royce Hall, Freud Playhouse) and at the Theatre at Ace Hotel through April 10 are being postponed.
■ The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills has canceled all programming through March 31.
■ **The Wiltern: Umphree McGee’s show on Friday, March 13, is postponed, and the band is streaming their 2018 California run of shows on demand for the next three nights for free. Third Eye Blind is postponing their entire Spring Screamer Tour, including their Satuday, March 14, date at the Wiltern.
■ **Zebulon is closed until further notice. All shows as of Sunday, March 15, are postponed.
■ * The following shows scheduled for Thursday, March 12, were scotched: Delta Spirit at the Teragram Ballroom; Dance Gavin Dance at the Palladium; the Rapture at the El Rey Theatre; Rhys Langston at the Virgil; Eric Nam at the Regent Theater (and Saturday’s show as well); The Garden at Amoeba; Spencer Sutherland at the Troubadour; Avi Kaplan at the Lodge Room; Dan Deacon at the Observatory; Pussy Riot at the Constellation Room; Pacific Radio at Boardner’s; Spencer Sutherland at the Troubadour; Jack Symes at the Moroccan Lounge.
■ Elsewhere, the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho, set for March 25-29, has been rescheduled for Sept. 23-27.
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