When it comes the venues, there are no hard rules, as there are too many types. Again, we’re not talking amphitheaters, only the smaller venues which concentrated on the “folk” scene. They start as small folk coffee houses, and can run all the way up to 300-seat performing arts centers. Some can be totally non-profit, with no paid employees and which occupy church basements and grange halls, and range up to those with facility managers, talent buyers, and big maintenance bills.
Picking winners is tough, but there will be fallout. The small all-volunteer, church basement sort of venue will be fine, as they have no fixed costs to worry about, and the reason they put the shows on is not soley for the benefit of the artists, but for the benefit of the community. If you have no interest in becoming part of that community, they have no interest in you.
The larger performing arts centers will also be fine, as they have the benefit of large donor bases and a board with the expertise to wrangle state and federal aid. They have the wherewithal to hang in there. They might have hosted a streaming concert or two just to stay current, but by and large, they can just hunker down and not spend any money, if at all possible.
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