According to a survey, 90% of independent music venues will be forced to close permanently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports of venue closures have already begun to come in, including Great Scott in MA and The Jinx in GA. In Los Angeles, CA's Silver Lake neighborhood, The Satellite, which was previously known as Spaceland, will remain open -- but not as a place to see live music. Rather, it's converting back to a restaurant, as it was when it originally opened in 1968.
In a message on Facebook, the venue writes:
To all of the Satellite fans out there, I am sorry to say that we will no longer be doing live shows or dance parties. We would like to thank you for all the support you have shows us over the years.
We shut our doors March 12 after the bands started canceling shows due to the corona virus and the Government shutting down the bars and nightclubs just a few days later. It has really hit us hard. We can no longer afford to wait for the day we will be allowed to have shows again. If we do that, we will not have the money to continue and will be forced to close forever.
We are currently removing the stage and redesigning the club to be more of a place to get good quality drinks and food. We will be re-opening the kitchen and doing a complete redesign. Due to the lack of funds, this will not happen quickly. We will be opening in the parking lot for food and drinks as soon as we have the kitchen re-opened or the government lets us hire a food truck. We hope you will still support us during these tough times.
It personally has been an amazing 25 years of live music and dance parties. I will miss those days but it is time for us to move on.
I would hope that you will support groups like NIVA. They are trying to raise support in Congress and the Senate to help out all the Independent clubs in the US so they do not have to change format like we did or just close the doors for ever. Go to their site and show your support so we can start going to shows again!
Speaking to Los Angeles Magazine, owner Jeff Wolfram said, "Do we want to go back to the huge competition or become something different and hopefully survive? We’re trying to figure out where we’re going next. At this point we’re winging it."
As The Scenstar points out, The Satellite hosted performances from Arcade Fire, Beck, Foo Fighters, The Killers, My Morning Jacket, Reggie Watts, The White Stripes, Death Cab For Cutie, Lady Gaga, Local Natives, Julian Casablancas, Silversun Pickups, Rilo Kiley, and many others overs the years.
