Strike up the band and join the chorus: Keep Music Live in Tacoma

Remember live music? Being in a crowd and in the moment, singing along with the band and the entire venue? Some of our best memories come from moments like this. But what happens if we don’t get them back?

Independent live music venues are in crisis. The widespread closures of these community gathering spaces due to the pandemic means our stages went dark. Musicians postponed or canceled tours, but our rent is still due — and that’s not all.

After going month after month without support, 63% of Washington’s independent music venues are expected to permanently close by February.

These small businesses are cultural institutions and without them, Tacoma suffers. Touring and live performances on stage are a primary source of income for musicians and without stages, there is less opportunity to earn a living wage, not to mention building a fan base and launching a career.

Live performances bring people into the neighborhood to see shows at these venues, people who grab a drink at Zodiac Supper Club, visit Stocklist, stay in Hotel Murano and yes, pay for parking.

When a fan buys a ticket, they typically spend $32 in the local economy, on top of the admission price. Considering that Washington’s small- to medium-sized music venues sold more than 3.2 million tickets in 2019, it’s a big economic impact.

Venues can’t wait any longer for federal relief. While it was critical support for many small businesses, the Paycheck Protection Program is designed to do just that, protect payroll.

When venues aren’t open, there isn’t an opportunity to rehire the staff that this funding is intended for. If they close, those spaces are more likely to be redeveloped than return as music venues.

Tacoma loves music; it’s a part of our identity in the Pacific Northwest. If we want to stop the closures of places we love, that make our cities our homes, music fans will need to step forward to take care of our vital music culture.

A group of music lovers statewide is doing just that, working to support our hometown, community-based music venues, specifically, those with a capacity of fewer than 1,000 guests. The fundraising campaign is called Keep Music Live. (Learn more at www.KeepMusicLiveWA.com)

The downtown venue where I work, Alma Mater, has been closed for live events 227 days at the time of this writing. Our 1,000-square-foot patio open for food and drinks is helping, but the 7,000-square-foot showroom sits empty, with no revenue.

As a booking agent, I could have an easier job than 2 a.m. troubleshooting and dealing with rerouted tours, as could many of the hundreds of production staff, bartenders, techs and security that would be working in local venues right now.

We do this because we love music and love the community around it. We can’t imagine Tacoma without live music.

The music industry will continue to be safe, cautious and diligent in protecting our community. But we want to emerge strong, with live music thriving in Pierce County and neighborhoods like downtown Tacoma, full of life and culture.

We need every music fan to step up and be part of the scene even while our stages are dark. We need them to Keep Music Live.

Nathan Chambers of Tacoma is the talent buyer for Alma Mater, a 500-person capacity live music venue at 1322 Fawcett Ave.