What's the forecast for the big Jersey summer concerts?
Like the song goes, see you in September.
The concert industry is looking toward the end of summer and into the fall for a return of the big shows, according to industry insiders.
“I think it’s a safe bet that outdoor concerts can return with some normality by early fall, and indoor concerts will follow that trend, probably by September and October,” said Jim Steen, a Manahawkin-based concert promotion veteran with Bowery Presents in New York and Pennsylvania.
“Everybody is being very optimistic for the fall,” said Stan Levinstone, owner of the Haddonfield-based SLP Concerts. “It seems people are looking at September.”
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Presently, state capacity limits for large indoor venues is 20 percent of normal capacity and it's going up to 50 percent for large outdoor venues on May 10. The state redefined an outdoor“large venue” as any venue with more than 1,000 fixed-seating capacity on April 26. Attendees must besocially distanced and masked except for when eating.
There are presently summer shows on the schedule for the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, the BB&T Pavilion on Camden, the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, the Ocean City Music Pier,the Prudential Center in Newark, and MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. But like last summer, the chance of the shows actually happening is iffy while COVID-19 infection rates are relatively high and venue capacities are limited.
In Jersey's largest venue, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, rescheduled concerts for Guns N’ Roses on Aug. 5; Lady Gaga on Aug. 19; and Rammstein on Sept. 10 are still on the schedule. However,Kenny Chesney postponed again his previously postponed Aug. 21 show to an undetermined date in 2022.
“We have waited for so long, I can’t play knowing I would disappoint a portion of No Shoes Nation who wouldn’t be able to get into the stadiums and the amphitheaters,” said Chesney in a statement on March 22. “There’s no way around that this year. As much I hate postponing further, I would hate telling people who waited we won’t be able to let them come due to capacity restrictions. That’s just not fair.”
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The Pony Summer Stage has a capacity of 4,500 for non-seated, general admission shows. The Shadow of the City festival, featuring the band Bleachers, was moved from May 29 to Sept 11 on the Summer Stage.
“Right now we feel really good about the new September date being ready and safe,” said reps for the fest on its social media.
The Sea.Hear.Now fest on the beach in Asbury Park, headlined by Pearl Jam and scheduled for Sept. 18 and 19;and the Barefoot Country Music Festival, scheduled for Aug. 19-22 on the beach in Wildwood and starring Carrie Underwood, are both still scheduled to take place as of press time.
Live Nation, which operates the PNC Bank Arts Center and BB&T Pavilion and books shows at the Summer Stage, is in communication with local officials and will provide updates on their shows via livenation.com and social media, according to a Live Nation rep.
“It's rolling the dice,” said Steen of the scheduled summer shows. “The shows are on sale in April in hopes that by the time we reach July we'll be at a place where restrictions will be loose enough for them to take place. (But) no one is one is going to violate any law or CDC guidelines — that's reckless. I don’t believe anyone will do that.”
“There are concerts where I’ve moved three, four times already,” said Stan Andrucyk of the Keyport-based AM Productions. “It's amazing the resiliency of people who are holding onto their tickets. There's been refunding but not anywhere as much as I thought there would be.”
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Andrucyk's AM Productions recently moved Ringo Starr's debut in Asbury Park at the Paramount Theatre. It's now scheduled for May 31, 2022, after two postponements.
In February, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, told the New York Times that bigger concert venues and theaters could reopen in the falldepending on the effectiveness of vaccinations and other factors.
“If everything goes right, this is will occur some time in the fall of 2021, so that by the time we get to the early to mid-fall, you can have people feeling safe performing onstage as well as people in the audience,” Fauci said.
That timetable still seems to be in effect.
New concert experiences
Sowhat will the big shows be like when they come back? Audiences may be required to wear masks and take other precautions and venues will need good ventilation and air filters, too.
Vaccine passports are a possibility.
“Willthere be a vaccine passport? I think again that's for a state or local municipalities to decide, that’s not going to be up to the local promoters,” Steen said. “Will certain venues have policies which require temperature taking? Still to be seen, still being discussed. We’re all new at this. We’re learning as we go along. Our No 1 priority is the safety of our customers, always.”
Gov. Murphy gave qualified support for a vaccine passports in March.
“I was asked about the vaccination passport, if I was open-minded to it at one point. I said 'Yeah, that's something that I'd be open minded to,' "Murphy said. “I don't want anyone to think that we're up here pounding the table, to think that this is something we unquestionably support. The CDC is the place that that discussion and that guidance has to come from.”
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Members of the New Jersey state assembly and senate have introduced legislation banning potential vaccine passports.
“The rapid erosion of individual privacy rights threatens the liberties and freedoms of every New Jersey resident,” said state Sen.MikeTesta, R-Cumberland,in a statement.“There is a balance between protecting public health without violating American Constitutional Rights.”
In New York, the state has joined with IBM on the “Excelsior Pass,” an app that shows if you've been vaccinated or recently tested negative for COVID. If so, then you can enter a sporting event or concert. The pass has been tested at Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center.
Also, segregating audiences into vaccinated and non-vaccinated sections is in play, Steen said.
The music plays on
Until the big shows and festivals come back, there's still plenty of live music in the state. Venues including the Langosta Lounge and Tim McLoone's Supper Club on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, the Chubby Pickle in Highlands, the Vogel stage at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Crossroads in Garwood, Bar Anticipation in Lake Como, and the Levoy Theatre in Millvilleall are busy with socially distanced, seated crowds.
Conversely, the BergenPAC in Englewood, the State Theatre in New Brunswick and the Scottish Rite Auditorium on Collingswood have cleared their summer schedules.
What's new this summer is the outdoor Concerts on the Green concert series at the Suneagles Golf Club in Eatontown. It's presented by the Basie and some pretty big names, and talented locals, are coming through, including Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem, Max Weinberg and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. The series kicks off on May 14 with Bobby Bandiera’s Runnin’ Down A Dream: A Tribute to Tom Petty show.
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In Newark, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center just announced that it will reopen for in-person performances this summer. Attendees must present A COVID negative test within three days of show or vaccine card. The shows with be limited capacity withsocially distanced seating.
AM Productions plans to present reducedcapacity shows in larger venues this summer.
“There are some larger venues where it’s starting to make sense, so yes, I’m planning on working at large venues with reduced capacities,” Andrucyk said.
However, there are those who feel the reduced capacity shows in the larger venues isn't a tenable option.
“It’s got to be financially worth it,” Levinstone said. “The problem is you’re not going to open at 50 percent capacity unless the bands are taking less money.”
As for drive-in concerts, the big Drive-In Live series presented by the Basie at Monmouth Park in Oceanport last year is dormant this summer, but Sussex County Live in Augusta; Drive-In Live Concert Series presented by the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown; and the Circle Drive-In in Scranton, Pa., will be having drive-in shows.
It's another summer of uncertainty and improvisation in the music world. But there's light at the end of the tunnel and it's a concert strobe light.
“This has been incredibly hard on everybody in this industry,” Steen said. “It's been hard on promoters, people who produce the shows, people who sell tickets, people who work concessions —everything. It's been hard on the artists who rely on touring as a major source income. It's been incredibly difficult experience and everyone is looking forward to breathing a sigh of relief when we’re on the other side it.”
Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.
