S A V I N G BOISE’S STAGES
IDAHO PRES S ARC HIVES
BY SONORA BIRNIE The silence that fills Boise’s eerily empty music venues is deafening and something no one expected to last as long as it has, least of all musician Melanie Radford. She has spent the better part of the past 10 years on Boise stages as a bassist and vocalist for several bands, including Built to Spill and Blood Lemon. “I was brought up on these stages. I cut my teeth on these stages. I learned how to write songs and perform them on the Neurolux stage, the Crazy Horse stage, the Red Room stage and the Olympic,” Radford said. “These are incredibly important stages, not only to me as a musician, but for our entire community. It’s a hub for the music community and it’s a beacon to all professional musicians.” While the CARES Act gave some small companies a small financial boost back in March, this was hardly to support the multi-faceted ecosystem that is independent music venues. The success of the stage relies on many players, only some of which include booking agents, musicians, bar tenders, and the sound and light engineers. The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked Boise’s music venues to the core, leaving owners, employees, and live-music lovers wondering if they can make it to the end of the year. Several venues have already permanently closed in the Treasure Valley due to the sudden loss of revenue. In an effort to avoid the same fate as their fallen comrades, music venues across the nation have banded together to create the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). The association was formed in March 2020, and BOISEWEEKLY ANNUAL MANUAL 2020-2021
TR ACY BRINGHURST
(Top) K a r e n M e a t p e r f o r m s at Neurolux in Boise during T r e e f o r t 2 0 1 9 (Above) R e e f i s one venue currently offering live music on its outdoor patio.
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