Arizona Music Venues Reach A COVID-19 Crossroad

TUCSON, AZ — It's been a full calendar year since the last concert took place at downtown Tucson's venerable Rialto Theatre. The venue was slated to celebrate its centennial in 2020, with lots of pomp and celebration.

Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic brought financial hardship and desolation to the live music industry, pushing venues across the country to the brink.

The Rialto Theatre, which is run by the nonprofit Rialto Foundation, was no different in that regard. That's the takeaway from the foundation's board president, Kip Volpe, who described the laundry list of difficult decisions that the foundation faced in the last 365 or so days.

"It’s a complete shutdown. The easiest way to describe it is that we were the first industry to shut down, and we’ll be the last to reopen," Volpe said. "So nobody’s borne the brunt more than the music venue business.

"We still don’t know when it will reopen," he added. "We’re confident it will reopen, but we’re at the mercy of a number of factors. N0. 1, obviously, governmental restrictions. No. 2, the artists themselves touring. Maybe they’re just going to go to Texas."

For venues such as the Rialto, which employed more than 100 people prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the task at hand in returning to some semblance of normalcy is just as uncertain as it is daunting.

Volpe said the Rialto Foundation was forced to furlough the entire staff at the Rialto, as well as at neighboring venue, 191 Toole. Now, even with the state of Arizona reopening some businesses such as bars and restaurants, the future for music venues remains murky.

"The board took over the operations of the [Rialto], which basically meant culling through the income statement and balance sheet and talking to creditors and working things out and basically hanging on to our money as much as we could," Volpe said. "It’s not going to be, ‘Flip on the lights. You’re going to start making money.’ That’s just not the case."

Feeling The Burn

About 120 miles up Interstate 10 in Tempe, the song remained the same for Marquee Theatre General Manager Tracy Henderson.

Henderson, who was previously the head of security at the venue, said the Marquee has not held a concert since March 11, 2020. The name of the game right now is to survive until some sense of normalcy returns, she said.

"We’ve been shut down for a full year. We left a sold-out show to come back two days later, and it didn’t happen. And then we waited, and we waited, just like the rest of the world," Henderson said. "And it’s been tough. We’ve been barely keeping our heads above water."

Part of the frustration for venue personnel such as Henderson and Volpe has been the slow-rolling support from the last two rounds of stimulus funding for venues like theirs. The second round of stimulus included the $400 million Shuttered Venues Operators Grant, which was meant to be a lifeline for operators such as the Rialto and Marquee theaters.

Instead, the Small Business Administration, which was in charge of the grant funding, has been hard to get in touch with, Henderson said. "Like everybody else, we’re having a hard time making utilities and all of that," she said. "So I think when it comes to the SVOG — I have to admit, I’m angry. It passed in December, and we’re in the middle of March, and still no one has a clue what’s happening or how you’re going to get it and when you’re going to get it."

Help Is On The Way?

Both Henderson and Volpe expressed optimism that the recently passed third round of stimulus funding will be a lifeline for the live music business. The new stimulus includes $1.25 billion in funding for venues like theirs, which will go into the SVOG funding pool.

For Henderson, the possibility of landing funding through the third round of stimulus is a silver lining on what's otherwise been a calendar year to forget for the industry at large. "Honestly, with that one, I don’t think it’s going to take very long at all," Henderson said. "So I think that’s what’s going to save us, to keep us with our heads barely above water until the SVOG comes out."

Volpe expressed optimism that Congress finally grasped how important live music venues are to local communities across the country. "It’s a lifesaver," Volpe said. "These things would be all gone. I think what Congress has realized is that a lot of these theaters are really anchors for the community. Many of them are historic, like the Rialto, but also culturally and of course economically, which always drives anything in Congress."

Venues Banding Together

Another silver lining of sorts for Arizona venues was the collaboration they undertook with Stephen Chilton, who owns Phoenix's The Rebel Lounge and is the current vice president of the National Independent Venues Association.

The collaboration was the "I <3 Arizona Independent Venues" project, which included a line of merchandise sporting a saguaro cactus in front of a starry sky, a vinyl record and a stylized ticket stub that featured the names of venues that are independently owned and operated.

The list of venues involved in the project ranged from the Rialto, 191 Toole, The Fox Tucson Theatre and Club Congress in Tucson to the Marquee Theatre in Tempe and The Rebel Lounge, Rhythm Room, Valley Bar, Crescent Ballroom and Celebrity Theatre, to name a few, in Phoenix.

The collaboration represented the notion that venues of all shapes and sizes were in this together, in Henderson's opinion. "We’re a family. And in the vast world that we have today, it’s funny what a small world it really is," Henderson said. "If I mentioned to somebody, ‘Hey, I work at the Marquee Theatre.’ And if somehow they’ve been to our venue, or they’ve worked at another venue, immediately there’s an instant connection."

Chilton said the I <3 Arizona Venues project showed how interwoven the venue industry was, especially in Arizona, and how much live music meant to Arizonans of all ages.

"I’ve seen other states do something similar with other shirts. Some other states had done similar fundraisers, and Fader Magazine had done one for Los Angeles and New York City," Chilton said. "So I just decided that we all should do that for Arizona and reached out to a bunch of venues, and everyone loved the idea."

The longtime Valley-based promoter and venue owner said the first round of checks from I <3 Arizona Venues merchandise have been sent out. Chilton hopes the funding can be a lifeline for a lot of venue owners who are facing dire financial straits at the moment.

"It wasn’t anything crazy, but at this point, every little bit helps," Chilton said. "So we're still just promoting those and trying to build community and awareness and trying to get our venues to do something together."

The NIVA collaboration was another lifeline for Arizona venues at a time when any bit of assistance was welcomed. Henderson and Volpe both expressed gratitude for the work that NIVA and Chilton put in on the effort.

"With NIVA, The Rebel Lounge and Steve has been really at the forefront of that," Henderson said. "And I think that if we don’t band together, nothing’s going to get accomplished. Many voices speak louder than one."

The Show Must Go On

Slowly but surely, music venues across the state are dipping their toes back into hosting live events.

Volpe and the Rialto Theatre are launching a free Rialto Theatre Gallery Project on April 2, featuring photographs taken at concerts that the venue held in a pre-coronavirus world. "We’ve culled through 5,500 pictures that the photographers have taken, and it’s starting at the end of the month," Volpe said. "And you won’t believe the acts that played there. It’s mind-blowing. Justin Bieber played there. Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Ed Sheeran — all these people that are massive stars now — have played the Rialto."

Chilton said his promotion business lost 99.6 percent of its revenue year over year, while The Rebel Lounge lost close to 96.5 percent during that time frame. He found an ever-increasing sense of optimism, however, in the continued rise in vaccination numbers in the 48th state.

"That’s the only thing that’s going to get us back," Chilton said of COVID-19 vaccinations. "Even as things are reopening, you’re still not allowed to do concerts or shows. We produce mass gathering in tight spaces, and that’s what’s not safe. So until we get vaccinated, there just is no coming back to shows until that happens."

For Henderson and the Marquee Theatre, the goal right now is to open the venue for shows on April 1, capping the 2,000-plus seat venue at a crowd of 400 to start. The former counselor said she hopes the return of live music can be a boon for people who are longing for any semblance of normalcy after being cooped up for 12 months.

"Mental health has always been at the forefront of my career until I took over as GM," Henderson said. "And so I also look at the mental health aspect. And it’s amazing. If you look on social media, and it’s, ‘I miss music. I need music. Music’s the only thing that’s keeping me going. I really miss live music, and until I have live music, I have to rely on my albums or my Spotify or any of those.' But all you hear now is music. And how that really has been keeping people grounded, per se."

For Chilton, the future for The Rebel Lounge and his promotion business is up in the air at the moment, though the venue plans on continuing its Reap & Sow Coffee Bar operation in addition to renting the facility out for livestreamed performances.

The bottom line for Chilton is that the future of live music is fully dependent upon enough people receiving COVID-19 vaccinations to hold gatherings again in a safe manner. "And venues are still not out of the woods," he said. "We still have not received federal funding. It’s coming. We’re hoping that opens soon. But venues are still struggling. We’re still just barely holding on, and we still need support."

Meanwhile, Volpe said the tentative goal for the Rialto is to resume shows by the end of July. The goal for Volpe and the Rialto with their photo exhibit is to show the public that live music will shine on once the pandemic's grasp has been broken.

"The purpose is to kind of show people again that the Rialto still lives, and this is what used to be there, and that’s what’s coming back," Volpe said.