Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, issued March 23, resulted in the temporary shutdown of all bars and music venues across Washington, and the loss of performances has had a devastating impact on artists and musicians. With all shows cancelled until further notice, many musicians are now living without any source of income. While fundraisers have sprung up to support musicians in their time of need, one critical component of the industry has flown under the radar during the chaos: the small venue.

Most venues function on very slim margins in normal times and are now scrambling for ways to pay their rents. Without any way to bring in income, it’s becoming a looming possibility that some venues won’t be able to emerge on the other end of the COVID-19 crisis. And the disappearance of venues means the disappearance of the music industry as a whole: Without stages to play on, there won’t be anywhere for musicians to gather once this is all over.

“The margins are so tight,” said Jeff Ramsey, owner of Cafe Racer. “It’s not even a month-to-month kind of thing for most of us. It’s a week-to-week thing.”

Thirty-six venues — including small outfits like Columbia City Theater, Substation, and Lo-Fi, as well as the larger Neumos, Barboza, and Showbox — have recently come together to form cooperative organizations like the Washington Nightlife Music Association (WANMA), which is fighting for financial assistance from the government, but it’s still unclear what those results will be. Despite the government’s attempt to help small businesses, many venues don’t qualify for assistance, and there hasn’t been any legislation specifically targeted at music venues or nightlife.

Many venues are turning to alternate methods to ensure they can open their doors when the crisis subsides. As of publication, The Tractor Tavern has raised almost $36,000 through GoFundMe. Tim’s Tavern hosts live streams three to four times a week where donations are encouraged, and their GoFundMe is about a fifth of the way to its $15,000 goal. Cafe Racer is hosting an online auction featuring donations from local artists that has raised approximately $2,000.

But while those might seem like promising numbers, the reality of the situation is more complex.

“If we’re closed for six months, our rent is five grand a month. That’s $30,000 in rent,” said Ramsey. “Even if our landlord says, ‘You don’t have to pay me until you open back up,’ we [still] open back up with no revenue for six months and a $30,000 rent debt.”

On top of its fundraiser, Cafe Racer is serving a limited menu on Sundays and starting an internet radio station called Cafe Racer Radio that will feature bands that got their start at the small club, like La Luz and Tacocat. High Dive is working on setting up live streams at the venue — musicians performing for live streams are essential workers — with the stage set up so performers are six feet apart. Skylark Cafe & Club is still serving food, and owner Matt Larson said being able to deliver alcohol has been a saving grace, as most of their profit comes from drink sales.

“I have just been working every day to keep us in business. It’s a daily struggle, as we make everything on our menu from scratch, and we now get to do it without my incredible staff,” said Larson. “Me, my business partner, and my wife are preparing everything and delivering four days a week and prepping on the off days to keep this afloat.”

A plan for reopening

As COVID-19 began to make its way into the American landscape in early March, venues — large and small — were amongst the first businesses impacted. On March 11, Gov. Inslee halted all gatherings of over 250 people, which essentially closed all venues. 

“For the first week, everyone was just trying to figure out what the hell happened,” said Adam Prairie, the booker at The Sunset Tavern. “It was like the Kübler-Ross stages of death and dying. That’s kind of what it felt like. Like what, what happened? It was that shock moment.”

Now, with calendars cleared for April and May and no way to know if and when reopening will occur, many venues are rebooking shows all the way out to November. But booking and rebooking presents a unique obstacle. While other businesses may be able to open their doors fairly immediately once restrictions subside, venues generally schedule shows for at least two to three months in the future, a luxury not afforded right now.

“We were the first ones to close, and we’ll probably be the last ones to open,” said Kimo Muraki, the booker of High Dive. “Say a turn for the better suddenly happens and we can reopen [in] May. But we’ve already had to cancel so many shows in the beginning of May that there will be no time to turn around.”

Especially for larger venues like High Dive that tend to make significant income from touring acts, rescheduling has been a juggling act of unpredictability. There’s no way to say when different parts of the country will reopen, which makes it nearly impossible to plan a nationwide tour.

“I imagine that it’s really going to be up to the local venues, artists, and bands to really band together and try to make things happen very quickly,” said Muraki. “Whereas before you’re like, ‘We need a month and a half to announce and get all of our assets together and start promoting a show.’ There’s going to be so many luxuries we won’t have.”

But even when shows can be held again, venue owners said they’re concerned with what that will look like. If limits on attendance or social distancing guidelines are still imposed, that presents an extra challenge. A cap on ticket sales means a cap on profits, and it could be difficult to enforce social distancing regulations in an inherently socially compact situation. Underneath all of the financial, health, and scheduling concerns, there’s a larger question looming here: What impact will coronavirus have on the music community after the pandemic, and how long will that last?

“Bottom line is, whatever we thought of as normal in this business is gone, and we will have to adapt and figure out what makes sense for us business-wise, what is safe and in the best interest of the staff and patrons, and how we can continue to offer our stage for bands and performers,” said Larson.

A larger ecosystem

For now, though, venues are simply focused on making it to the other side of the pandemic. And with initiatives like WANMA, venues are banding together to make sure that happens.

“The reality is, if a whole bunch of venues start folding, that’s bad for all of us,” said Prairie. “In normal times, we’re all competing to have the best shows possible. The reality that everybody is realizing now is that we all operate in the same ecosystem, and we all help develop artists that end up in other people’s rooms. It doesn’t feel like a competitive environment as much anymore.”

A smaller Ballard venue, The Sunset’s costs are low compared to some of the larger venues in more expensive neighborhoods, and, according to Prairie, Owner Max Genereaux is committed to reopening, even if he has to take on personal debt. So while Prairie said he isn’t worried about The Sunset specifically — but more venues as a whole — other venues aren’t so sure. Muraki said he isn’t sure High Dive could make it through anything longer than half a year. Larson is taking things day by day but said the closure of the West Seattle Bridge doesn’t bode well. Ramsey said he had a conversation with the owners of Pike Place’s Can Can Culinary Cabaret about the potential drop-dead point. The number they threw around was six months.

But it’s not just other venues Larson, Muraki, Prairie, and Ramsey are worried about — it’s the whole ecosystem. Everyone is in trouble: musicians, producers and engineers, and, perhaps most importantly, their own venue staff.

For Muraki, who is currently working off-payroll, High Dive holds a special place in his heart.  “I’m working for free as a labor of love,” he said. “If I was to drop [everything], there’s no way to step back into it three months down the line.” 

He played one of his first shows in Seattle at the venue, and he got to know the small, tight-knit crew (he described it as being like “Cheers”) before he started booking.

“I love the place. I love the people. I love the relationships and working with all the bands,” he said. “I don’t want to see the place disappear. Everybody becomes a family. We all want our family to come back.”

Larson let his staff go a day before the stay home order. He said he tried to figure out a way to keep them on but ultimately decided it was better to let them start the unemployment process — a decision that, made with everyone’s best interests at heart, has caused him many sleepless nights.

“It was heartbreaking, as I love my staff dearly, and we are all close,” said Larson. “We are all in this business because we love music, good food, and sharing these things with our guests… On a weekly basis I spend more time with everybody [at the Skylark] than I do with my own family. I miss them more than I can express.”

Similarly, Ramsey initially put his staff on a standby lay-off, only to realize that letting them go would allow them to start the unemployment process. He sent an email to his team, telling anyone who wanted to be officially fired that he would honor their request — hoping they would come back come a reopening.

But it isn’t just his staff Ramsey is missing. As a smaller venue, Cafe Racer takes pride in being both a safe space and an incubator for young artists. The venue has always been a friend to the LGBT community, and musicians and non-musicians alike have flocked to the intimate gathering space for years for a supportive show and a good meal.

“We had a great celebration when the order came down,” said Ramsey. “A lot of people from the neighborhood came in to have their last drink and this last experience with their friends. We’re that neighborhood joint, and many of our customers are regulars. They’re there every day or, at times, twice a day. We’re really that spot. We’re the family for a lot of people.”

Ultimately, venues are just hoping to make it back to being the community staples they were before COVID-19. Owners and bookers have one main request for when restrictions let up: Come to the shows. Come support our local bands. For all of these venues, reopening will be an uphill battle that can’t be won alone — but it can be won as a community, banded together.

In the meantime, music-lovers can take solace that, as of yet, no permanent closures have been announced, and venues are still doing all they can to stay alive in the wake of coronavirus.

“There’s some energy around Cafe Racer. It’s not like we just closed and are quiet,” said Ramsey. “We’re still making noise.”

For ways to help support local artists and venues, see our fundraiser list or visit your favorite venue’s Facebook page for more information. Every little bit helps.

To inquire about performing at a Skylark live stream event, email booking@skylarkcafe.com.

Neumos, Barboza, and The Tractor Tavern could not be reached for comment.

Natalie Vinh contributed to this article.