CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The local arts community is feeling the brunt of music show cancellations, events and fundraisers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Local area musicians are seeing their shows canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus and it's having an effect on not only their wallets but the future of the industry. At the Drake Hotel, a weekly event called "Soiree de Salsa" has been canceled until further notice. The weekly live music and salsa dance classes held in the hotel's palm court can bring anywhere from 70-100 people together from all over the world.For local musician Tino Melecio, the cancelations are worrying. Melecio, the founder of Tino' & the Latin Swing Factor that brings dance lessons and salsa music to new audiences through the Soiree de Salsa event, said he understands cancelations during this time but it's the future of events like these that he worries about.
"Because once you lose momentum like that with some of these events, it's hard to bring them back," Melecio said.
He says the economic impact of this health emergency on everyone in the community leads him to believe people may have a difficult time putting money toward attending shows and paying for entertainment. "For people to all of sudden be able to come out and have money for entertainment, that's really what we are worried about the most," he said. For the gigging musicians in Chicago like Melecio, the necessity now for limiting social engagements is understandable, but the impact for some have been fortunate enough to make a living playing the music they love, is real."What are you going to do when you have a wife and a family and a mortgage and all that stuff, and you have zero income?" he said.
While some musicians are still holding on to small venue shows, Melecio's shows have been canceled. Others around him are also seeing a large number of cancellations as venues look ahead to low projections in attendance for the future. "One guy says he had 50 cancellations in one day — 50, I mean it's just devastating," Melecio said.He added that some musicians are working to arrange smaller private shows."From what it seems, 5 to 10 people, maybe even 20 people gathering together" are still acceptable, he said.Melecio said the best thing you can do to support the local musician's economy is to remember them when the coronavirus emergency has ended.