On March 11th, Sammy Hagar announced that his South American tour had been cancelled. The former Van Halen was scheduled to perform four shows during his first visit to Brazil, but due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the trip could not take place. The rapid and easy spread of the virus forced an avalanche of cancellations and postponements.
Artists have since been seeking new ways to connect with fans and stay in touch with their art, like Sammy Hagar himself, who has been recording covers with his colleagues from The Circle while in social isolation. However, a tour sustains much more than just the artist. Behind the scenes, there's a huge team working to make the shows happen.
“I’ve never gone this long without traveling as I am now,” confessed Pedro Nicolas , tour and stage manager and producer who has worked with Sepultura, Red Fang, Dio and Scorpions.
Over the years, the live entertainment industry has grown steadily. Guns N' Roses , with their "Not in This Lifetime" , which ran from 2016 to 2019, performed approximately 160 shows worldwide for over five million people. In Brazil, DataSIM released a survey in March that found that more than eight thousand events with a total audience of eight million would be affected by the pandemic. The total loss estimated almost 500 million reais.
Leo Soares is a drum technician and stage manager who has worked with bands such as Saxon, Angra, Motorhead , and Scorpions , and he explained how the cancellations are affecting these employees: "Many are in dire financial straits, and some are even suffering from other problems like depression."
“I don’t know any information. I believe he died this year,” said Adriano Chiesa , a tour security guard better known as Night . He has worked with Slipknot, Metallica, AC/DC, Judas Priest , and is famous in the industry as “ Megadeth .” Night was ready to travel with Sammy Hagar when it all happened. “Staying home is difficult. I miss touring, being too tired, and having to get on the tour bus because the band plays the next day in another country,” he confessed.
Some countries are already testing new ways to hold concerts , but the challenges are great. “People there respect the rules, right? In Brazil things will be more difficult (…) When the band plays the first chord, people will already be crowding together and it will all turn into a mess. As long as there isn't a vaccine against this virus, I think it's very difficult [to resume concerts],” said Night. Leo agrees and points out that adaptations will be necessary: “I think places that could hold 2000 people will have to reduce that to a maximum of 500.”
Rogério Pereira da Souza , tour and stage manager, producer and stage technician, agrees with Leo and believes that shows should take place in "larger venues with a reduction of 3 or 4 people per square meter".
There is also the issue of public confidence: “The security that a person needs to feel to go to a place where there is a crowd will need to be regained. I myself would think twice before going to a show in an enclosed space with 2000 people (…) I am sure that this will happen again, but I think people will have to feel safe,” said Pedro Nicolas.
While they wait for the situation to improve, these workers stay home trying to figure out what they're going to do. "I see this moment as if they've taken you out of your normal life and put you in some episode of The X-Files . Nothing makes sense," said Leo.
Others found themselves in a situation where, in addition to managing their home and family, they needed to look for a new job. Those interviewed recounted stories of friends who had to find different jobs to support themselves, such as painters, mask vendors, and other activities unrelated to live entertainment.
Some have managed to stay in the market with live streams, but Rogério points out that this is a passing fad: “Doing live streams shouldn't satisfy people's hunger for live music… Not to mention that live streams don't involve technical teams and infrastructure personnel… In other words, for the general public, live streams are a self-sabotaging strategy.”
Right now, many colleagues have come together to make this moment a little easier. Pedro mentioned some bands that are using their merchandise as a way to help their tour mates. Faith No More , for example, created a special line of merchandise, and all the proceeds from these products will go to the backstage staff on their tour.
Rogério emphasized that fans can also help those who work backstage at shows, not just those on stage. Several organizations have been created specifically to assist these workers, and we've selected some of these initiatives below.
Invisible Backstage: A support group aimed at helping backstage professionals during the coronavirus pandemic.
Save Production : Fundraising campaign to support freelance event producers in Rio de Janeiro who are out of work due to COVID-19.
SOS World of Events : A movement uniting professionals, artists, and companies involved in the events and entertainment market in São Paulo.