Venues, artists adjust to increasing COVID-19 cases in Austin

Venues and musicians in Austin are imploring people to get vaccinated as the live music scene is impacted again by the latest wave of COVID-19.

AUSTIN, Texas - Just as live music was making a comeback in Austin, the tempo was forced to slow.

"It was like a softball bat hitting you in the face," said Michael Mordecai, acting manager of the Elephant Room.

Fresh off playing in a tournament this weekend, Mordecai knows a thing or two about the game and the industry. "What I do down here is I book the music," said Mordecai. "And I’ve booked the music since day one."

Day one for the Elephant Room was three decades ago, but its thirtieth year has been like none before.

After closing down in March 2020, the venue reopened on June 22, but on July 7, they closed again after learning four employees and a band member had contracted COVID-19.

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A renewed effort to hire additional caregivers is underway. The health authority is considering opening overflow care facilities, but having staff will factor into that.

"When we reopened, the mask mandate had been lifted and everybody was acting like COVID was over and gone out of our lives, a thing of the past," said Mordecai. "We decided to shut it down again for a while and when we re-reopen we’ll put more brain power into it and all the staff will be vaccinated, they will be wearing masks."

For local musician Ginger Leigh, a July 31 in-person show at the Saxon Pub was something to look forward to. "After so many months of being off the stage I was over the moon about it," she said.

But when cases increased, she decided to hold off, announcing on Facebook that she was switching to an outdoor, virtual show.

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"There were some members of my band that weren’t very comfortable with playing inside at the moment and I wanted to protect them," she said. "And a lot of venues at the time weren’t requesting or requiring masks or anything like that, so I made a hard decision."

At this point, virtual outdoor shows are a familiar move for artists, but nonetheless, disappointing.

"We have to struggle constantly with this up and down, yes and no, you're in and out and you’re safe and you’re not," said Leigh. "A lot of my artist colleagues in Austin and I are kind of on the same page here, taking it day by day, seeing what’s happening."

Three popular Austin music venues open for first time since pandemic

Mohawk Austin, The Continental Club and The Saxon Pub have opened their doors again for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year.

Leigh emphasized her support for local venues and her desire to get back on their stages. "I love the Saxon Pub, I love the venues in Austin and I’m doing everything I can to get back to normal," said Leigh. "Bring us back inside, people, by getting vaccinated, please!"

Another popular venue, The Continental Club, announced on Thursday that they are currently operating at 75% capacity, saying in a Facebook post, "We recommend that folks wear masks and get vaccinated to protect yourself & others based on guidelines set forth by Austin-Travis County Health officials."

ACL Live announced Thursday on Twitter that artist Jason Isbell would require attendees at his upcoming show to show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test beforehand.

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