Many musicians’ lives consist of being on stage and performing, but most of that has been taken away due to the pandemic. The music industry has suffered greatly with tours cancelled, venues closed and more. As a result, artists and small venues have had to change their strategies to cope with these roadblocks.

Amy Maglieri, photographer and co-owner of the Whisky a Gogo, owns the iconic Hollywood club with her husband in order to continue the family business. Maglieri shared about how the club has been coping with the changes for business and entertainment. 

“We’ve been shut down since the beginning, March of 2020, and it hasn’t just only affected us but all the workers here too,” Maglieri said. 

Since the Whisky has been closed, the owners and staff have been trying to do many things to keep it running as a whole. 

“We’ve been doing live streams, pay-per-views and we’ve been doing it with local bands and we do those for free, and we also then do some really big bands. Like, we did Miley Cyrus to support and help all venues,” Maglieri said.

There are also many charities, such as the Grammys, Rolling Stone and more, that people can donate money to. Earnings are given to many recording studios, arenas, music artists, and more. 

“A year is a long time for anything to be closed, and for a place like the Whisky, recovering has already been a little difficult,” Magleri said. 

The Whisky a Gogo has been a famous Hollywood landmark for over 40 years now. It was originally a bank and then turned into the amazing rock n roll club it is today. 

“The Whisky actually opened in 1964 and it’s maybe closed four times a year, and it’s just insane that it has been closed for almost a year,” Magleri said.

Musicians have also been strongly affected by the pandemic. Artists like Brandon Boyd, lead singer and songwriter of Incubus, and Bonnie McIntosh, professional touring pianist and keyboard player, both had tours cancelled because of COVID-19. 

“I was in the middle of the Melanie [Martinez] K-12 tour when the pandemic hit. I had been playing keys for Melanie for seven months at the time and had just returned from touring in Europe when COVID was discovered in the U.S.,” McIntosh said.

It takes time to realize how delicate a career in music is and over the pandemic, Boyd has done just that. 

“We are a touring band in that we make a living almost entirely by playing live, so all having that disappear as sharply as it [did] definitely was a rude awakening to how fragile our collective way of life is,” Boyd said. 

Boyd also explained that most of the time, working in a band is collaborative since members write and perform together. Being unable to have the same communication with the band during quarantine is difficult, but Boyd also feels this gives time to work by himself. 

“So there is and never will be a true substitute for being in a room with your friends and a bunch of strangers all singing and dancing together. But we can still muse and create when we are alone and that I have been doing quite a lot since we went into lockdown,” Boyd said. 

McIntosh expressed the raw emotion that she’s feeling about the pandemic affecting the music industry.

“I think COVID-19 has changed the music industry forever, mostly because we all realize how delicate this career is. When you go back from touring the world, performing every single night while making decent money to being unemployed with no income, it definitely shakes up your world a bit,” McIntosh said. 

On March 12 at 5 p.m., the Grammys are holding a MusiCare virtual concert to raise money for the music industry and to help and support artists during this time. This is a great opportunity to support artists like McIntosh and Boyd. 

McIntosh also shared advice for young aspiring musicians and what they should be doing now. 

“Take care of your mental health first and don’t try to live up to anyone’s standards but your own right now. Find what makes you unique and explore that,” McIntosh said.