Concerts will come back. Although they may not be back as soon as we would like, they will be back nonetheless, just maybe not as we know them.

Part of returning to normal life is, of course, participating in one of the world’s favorite pastimes in being able to attend concerts in person. Now Looking at the trajectory of the rest of the world and countries like Great Britain already allowing people to attend concerts in person, this should give the citizens of the U.S a lot of hope that things hopefully will have some semblance of normality sooner rather than later. 

Or at the very least the U.S. will increase safety precautions similarly to Britain in hopes of allowing people to at least be able to attend in-person concerts again, instead of attending drive-in events.

According to CNN, in regards to British concerts, “Distancing is enforced on arrival. Cars are parked two meters apart before patrons are guided to their own platformed private viewing areas, while food and drink can be ordered beforehand or via an app for collection or delivery.” 

Now I believe that if the U.S. successfully enforced things like social distancing among other safety precautions, although the U.S. continues to lead in COVID-19 cases worldwide, I think that we could eventually follow the same path as places like Britain and South Korea. 

The other reason I believe that Americans will be able to get in-person concerts back is since the entertainment industry is being crippled because of the ongoing pandemic. 

 For example, if big world-class multimillion-dollar events like Coachella and Lollapalooza had to reschedule and lost millions in revenue.  Local venues like Hideout, The Metro, and Concord Music Hall with a more limited revenue stream will, of course, struggle not to shut their doors. 

According to a Chicago Tribune interview with Katie Tuten, who is co-owner of the 24-year-old Hideout, as well as a founding member of the Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL), a coalition that has been spearheading the publicity push for legislation. Tuten talks about the struggle of owning a venue during the pandemic.

“We need the help and the support now, or, without question, some of our beloved venues will close,” Tuten said. “I mean, think about it. Oh my gosh. We still have mortgages, property taxes, utilities — our bills keep coming.”

Although there is no current timeline for venues to open again, I cannot possibly imagine a world with no music venues. So with any luck, hopefully, we can get back to normal sooner rather than later. As I surely cannot see in person concerts disappearing post-corona, not to mention the fate of venues nationwide depend on the U.S getting better control of the pandemic.