Is the local scene heating up for you?

[cphollis]

Just curious if others are seeing this? Recently, I've been barraged by bands seeking keys players for immediate gigs. It's all small-scale stuff, but ...

 

I think what is happening in my little coastal Florida bubble is that all the venue owners are very motivated to get crowds to return, so they're going heavy on live music 3-5 nights a week. That's a lot of gig slots to fill that weren't there too long ago. And there seem to be a lot of bands forming (or re-forming) to meet the need.

 

Weird, but kind of cool. Although there's some really crappy bands at some of these places. All good, I suppose.

 

I'm guessing others have either seen this, or will before long?

[MAJUSCULE]

Gigs are still non-existent here. Third wave hasn't been great.

[Adan]

Yep, flood gates are opening. I'm in a different community than pre-covid, but being a keyboard player it's easy to find gigs. The limit is just how much I want to play.

[KuruPrionz]

2 gigs tomorrow, both outdoors. Weather is perfect here right now, we have great summers.

One at noon and one at 6pm, about 35 miles apart.

Both full band, we've played a lot of duos in the past, just the two singers, our lead singer and myself.

 

That's a long day though, I prefer just one gig but doubles don't happen often and both are good clients.

[The Real MC]

I live close to the NY/PA border. PA is lively but not NY.

[El Lobo]

Yeah! I hadn't played out for over a year. Now I've gigged in 3 bands and more gigs are booked for each of the 3.

[Outkaster]

I booked two gigs last night. Things are changing and many club owners think once the mask mandate is lifted in NYS things will loosen up.

[Delaware Dave]

Starting this weekend I'm booked every weekend through the summer. Let the craziness begin.

[ajstan]

In Ohio, things seem to be coming back stronger than before. As a 6-piece that either uses house sound or hires a sound company, our core client base consists of larger bars, festivals/events, and private clubs. Out of 40 scheduled gigs in 2020, we only played 16, seven of which were pre-COVID. We also worked in partnership with our venues however it was helpful to them (pricing, rescheduling, start/end times, cancellations) as we knew that the situation was out of their control. As a result, we emerged with even stronger relationships.

 

This year, we've already played six (five others cancelled due to COVID), have over 40 more scheduled, and may take on another half dozen or so through end of year depending upon everyone's availability.

 

All of our bars were able to stay alive in 2020 at limited capacity and are bouncing back. Festivals are returning. There are even some new live music venues that emerged with 4-piece bands (with and without tracks) that run their own sound, that are now able to generate the revenue necessary to book us. It's encouraging that the statewide mask mandate has been lifted as of yesterday, so we aren't expecting cancellations unless something unforeseen arises.

[Ken Beaumont]

I played once two months ago but have another gig coming up. The places are opening up but the competition is getting fierce. There are bands coming in from Richmond Va, and even further that before the pandemic would never drive this far for what they pay us local acts. But they are all doing it now. The places that are open are fully booked into mid 2022. The gig I have coming up is due to a cancellation.

[Tom Williams]

At last count, we have 7 gigs confirmed this summer, roughly one per fortnight. The pay is terrible -- we're doing them more to get out than to make a buck.

[pinkfloydcramer]

Still hanging on to my weekly Saturday gig at the Legion. Best development is one of the 2 local restaurants that features a nightly piano bar, has brought back the piano music after a year long haitus. A good friend of mine does the booking and is using me on a regular basis, plus for emergency fill-ins. Private events and lounge gigs seem to be picking up also.

[timwat]

Yes. Gigging tonight, have had several offers I've already had to turn down, wedding gigs coming back on the books as well.

[brenner13]

NE Kansas is starting to hop. Have done three outdoor shows so far these last two months.We had to cancel tonight, though. Drummer hurt his back and eminent thunder storms at an outside rural venue.

Got back to back shows next weekend and booked nearly every weekend after that through August.

So good to be back at it.

[Baldwin Funster]

Starting to heat up? No. Starting to thaw? Some signs are poking through like little green shoots. It wouldnt take much of a new scare to lock it all down again.

[Moonglow]

I"ve played two jobs this month, last weekend"s gig was a frenzied mad house. Pent up cabin fever released in proportional magnitude. Have another gig tonight, with 14 more shows on the calendar. I"m fully vaccinated and still being careful, but feels good to be back.

[eric]

VA ain"t no FL. LOL.

 

Looks like I may get 2-3 gigs per month for the rest of the year, if the blend of outdoor and gradual indoor shows actually happen.

[KeyMoe]

Looks like 3 to 4 gigs a month right now. Although some bars have been pretty empty. Seems some folks are still nervous about getting out. But surely business is picking up.

[Mark Schmieder]

Yes, two gigs in two weeks. Both out of the blue. Our regular gig isn't back yet though. Maybe in July.

[Stokely]

Our two outdoor gigs have been packed and were really great. It remains to be seen how indoor ones will do. Unfortunately this (through the fall) is the time of year where outdoor gigs in FL suck, between the heat and the late afternoon/evening daily thunderstorms.

[BigJPatton]

Nada, zilch, I thought our usual outdoor gigs would be booked by now but it doesn't look good.

 

NY is about as locked down as anywhere since last March, and that's not changing anytime soon.

[vonnor]

Local live scene in Northern Virginia USA is definitely picking up. I was forced to take a break from keys and only had a couple Sound/Lights gigs since last April. Now I am rehearsing with a group and have gotten 2 other offers in the past month. Feast or famine.

 

~ vonnor

[Brad Kaenel]

Just booked my first gig (outside of worship services) in nearly two years. Just a simple jazz trio and vocalist, doing standards for a swanky 50th birthday party, but I'm pretty stoked about playing out with old friends. I was in the middle of Spring-sing rehearsals for "The Little Mermaid" when the hammer came down last year, and my usual summer show, six months prior to that, had been postponed, pending some performance-rights entanglements. It's been a WHILE...

[MathOfInsects]

Yes, offers have started to bubble up here. I just updated my website calendar and have 16 gigs booked through September (which was almost exactly what I was playing per month in the Beforetimes, so baby steps). Many colleagues have been doing duo gigs for several months, at a rate almost like the pre-Blip era. I turned down a few early on so haven't been in the mix for those. But regular old band gigs are booking again, and the mask mandate is about to be lifted completely on June 15, barring some unforeseen setback.

 

I did an actual session Monday afternoon/evening, 6 guys all fully vaccinated, in a (granted, very large) studio together, without a thought or mention of COVID, from early afternoon until close to midnight. That was pretty great.