BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – A vaccine requirement is steadily becoming the norm at many entertainment venues locally.
Borderland Music Festival on Wednesday announced a requirement that all those attending the festival on September 18 or 19 provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the festival.
Borderland owner Jennifer Brazill told WBEN it's their intention to follow the rules from government entities, which currently do not mandate a vaccine. However, because singer Jason Isbell announced he will only play at shows with a vaccine or negative test requirement, Brazill said they had to make the difficult decision to follow suit.
"We fully understand and support what he wants to do and what our entire industry wants to do right now," Brazill said. "We're just all really trying to stick together to keep our industry open and alive and to keep moving forward."
Borderland isn't the only venue that is taking precautions.
Live Nation, which operates Darien Lake, is requiring all artists, crew and attendees show proof of vaccination or a negative test at venues and festivals starting October 4. AEG Presents also has a similar policy that takes effect on October 1.
An upcoming show at Rec Room in Buffalo is requiring a negative test, regardless of vaccination status. Artpark as a venue does not have a vaccine or negative test requirement, though there are individual events there that have specific policies, such as Thursday night's show with Wilco and Sleater-Kinney.
"I think that this is the direction the industry is going in, at least for the next year," Brazill said. "I think it would be really hard to mandate it as a whole because a lot of venues operate independently. I do feel like the music industry, in general, has seen what needs to happen in order to stay open and keep their doors opened. So, I think people are going to get on the same page with this really quickly."
After announcing the COVID policy, Brazill said the majority of responses has been positive, though there have been some who have been critical of the policy.
"It is really hard to work within these parameters right now but we're doing the best we can," Brazill said.
