CULTURE
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
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Ryan Murphy, 43, knows the ins and outs of the concert venue business. He was the director of the St. Johns County’s Cultural Events Division from 2014 to 2019, and the manager of The Amp from 2010 to 2019. Although Murphy has since relocated to Alabama to help build an 8,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, the Florida native says his heart remains in the Sunshine State, where he is now pushing for the survival of the St. Augustine Amphitheater and Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, in addition to many other stages across the country. “I spent the last wonderful 10 years [at the St. Augustine Amphitheater] helping get the facility on the map and bringing artists from all over the world to our neck of the woods,” Murphy said. “[The music industry] is really an incredible ecosystem that supports itself on every level if operated in a healthy and intentional manner.” Yet, this standard of operation was largely why many venues began to close their doors due to required adherence to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. As a result, musicians and venue staff members have since united to propose acts before Congress, hoping to protect independently owned and operated venues against impending closure. “Currently, most of the federal support (like the The Paycheck Protection Program) does not cover these venues, and these venues were the first to close and will be the last to open,” Murphy said. “As it stands now, if they do not receive support from a stimulus package from the Federal Government, 90% of them will close permanently.”
The first act, the Save Our Stages Act, is designed to help ensure that relief funds are available to independent venue operators, music and venue promoters, and talent representatives. The second act, the RESTART Act urges government officials to tailor the Paycheck Protection Program to work for shuttered businesses that have zero revenue, high overhead and no clear timeline for reopening. “[Since introducing the acts to Congress] the response has been unbelievable,” Murphy said. “There has been so much support in Congress and from artists and music fans across the country.” Murphy explained that, only if the acts are passed, will venues truly have a fighting chance to make it through [the coronavirus pandemic] and see each other on the other side “arm-in-arm and singing along to our favorite band.” As these acts are part of the stimulus package that is currently being discussed on the floor of Congress, time is of the essence. “Every week another venue closes its doors, and this won’t stop until a lifeline is thrown out there,” Murphy said. “[The virus] has been absolutely brutal, and there is no ‘adaptable’ music venue model that makes sense. We’re just trying to hang in there.” In response, all Murphy asks is that readers continue to support local music, support independent music venues and support live music. FOLIO STAFF
