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Mass events, such as Austin City Limits, are unlikely to occur as normal at least through the end of the year, Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said during a press conference earlier today.
<p>"We are working on a plan to help forecast what we think is going to be reasonable, but looking through the end of December, we don't have any indications at this stage that we would be able to mitigate risk enough to have large events, particularly ones over 2,500 [people]," he said. </p><p>The ACL music festival, which takes place over two weekends in October, has <a href="https://austonia.com/fate-of-acl-2020" target="_self"><u>not yet been canceled or changed</u></a>. And the athletics director of the University of Texas <a href="https://austonia.com/sports/longhorns-football-fall-2020" target="_self"><u>is confident</u></a> Longhorn football will return this fall—possibly on a modified schedule or without fans in the stands. </p><p>But myriad other events, including <a href="https://austonia.com/lifestyle/austin-festivals-canceled" target="_self"><u>nearly 100 local festivals</u></a>, have been canceled, rescheduled or put on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. </p><p>Dr. Escott said Austin would need to lower its risk level—according to a <a data-linked-post="2645999147" href="https://austonia.com/Coronavirus/austin-color-coded-risk-chart" target="_blank">color-coded chart</a> Austin Public Health released last week—before larger events could be considered.</p><p>The current risk level is Stage 3, which recommends social gatherings don't exceed 10 people. </p><p>At Stage 1, the guidelines allow for gatherings in larger groups, the reopening of all businesses and an end to social distancing and masking. But Dr. Escott said we are unlikely to return to something close to normal until a vaccine is widely available. </p>
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(Dave Creaney)
Welcome to Austonia, a new, locally owned news company reporting on news, business, and politics in Austin. Like what you see? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our latest stories in your inbox.
Ben Ballinger can't remember the last time he went more than two months without playing music in front of an audience.
<p>But with venues throughout Austin <a data-linked-post="2645721470" href="https://austonia.com/austin-musicians-in-dire-straits-as-pandemic-keeps-doors-closed-on-venues" target="_blank">closed since mid-March</a> as part of precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the singer-songwriter said he hasn't set foot on stage since late February, when he performed at a local fundraiser for one-time presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.</p><p>That hiatus came to an end May 7, however, thanks to some ingenuity—and Ballinger's instinct that Austin music fans are hungry for a chance to experience live music again. </p><p>Along with fellow songwriter David Ramirez and the duo of Kevin Curtin and Gary Lindsey, Ballinger booked a drive-in style concert in an undisclosed field in south Austin that accommodates 25 vehicles.</p><p>Once at the location, which was distributed only to ticket holders, passengers stayed inside the vehicles and listened to the live performances on the car radio via a low-power FM transmitter. Since all 25 slots, at $20 each, sold out in less than two hours, Ballinger said he's encouraged that local fans are ready to support live music again even if they have to do so in an unusual setting.</p><p>"My stir-craziness, if I have any, is not why I wanted to do this. But I did sense an overall stir-craziness in the community and that definitely played into it," he said. "I tried to do as much market research as I could because I didn't know how it would be received and everyone has different levels of precautions. As soon as they heard what I was thinking, everyone thought it was a great idea."</p><p>The do-it-yourself gusto that inspired Ballinger to organize the concert roughly two weeks after first conceiving of the idea means attendees had a far different experience than they've grown accustomed to while attending shows in any of Austin's dozens of bars and live music venues.</p><p>Performers used a cargo rack atop Ballinger's Chevrolet Suburban as their stage, with no alcohol on sale. Concert flyers acknowledged the lack of public restrooms on-site, which Ballinger said played a part in the decision to keep the concert short, at 90 minutes total, as a way to minimize discomfort.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzIzNjg2OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMDYxNTQ0N30.OLTZRRsTZXh9tjS0lLKXGZK9XTdrUGUBz0DHw8Scd8E/img.jpg?width=980" id="30491" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="098cdc8bfe6dfb8ba1594ea326f9bdac" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>The quick sellout has Ballinger planning to host performances weekly and he's encouraging interested acts to contact him via email (see flyer) to take part in what he said is likely to be one of the most nontraditional concert settings he or anyone else involved have ever been a part of.<br/></p><p>"There's definitely a heartbreaking aspect to it—that in any other situation I'd be uncomfortable with the awkward distance we're going to have between us. But given the circumstances it's the best we can do right now," he said. "It's going to be unique. Part of why I felt emboldened to try it was because if anywhere was going to have something like this, this is the place where it could happen and the people here would support it and be open to it."<br/></p>Tickets for tomorrow are sold out, but Ballinger plans to make this a weekly event.
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(ACL Radio via city of Austin)
Welcome to Austonia, a new, locally owned news company reporting on news, business, and politics in Austin. Like what you see? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our latest stories in your inbox.
From bikers to bats to blues music, nearly 100 festivals in Austin have either been canceled, rescheduled or are up in the air as pandemic-era social distancing forbids Austinites to do what they do best: party together.
They include myriad events anticipated for later this year, such as:
<ul class="ee-ul"><li>Blues on the Green summer concerts</li><li>25th Annual Republic of Texas Biker Rally</li><li>July 4th events</li><li>Pecan Street festivals</li><li>Batfest</li><li>Austin City Limits</li></ul><p>March, April and May alone saw the cancelation or postponement of some 30 iconic large events, including:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>The Urban Music Festival</li><li>Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival</li><li>Austin Reggae Fest</li><li>Food + Wine Festival</li><li>Weird Homes Tour, </li><li>East Austin Studio Tour</li><li>Eeyore's Annual Birthday Party</li></ul><p>Several are rescheduled for the fall, but even those months are uncertain for large gatherings right now.</p><p>"It's just a sad time," said Julie Chase, chief marketing officer for <a href="https://www.austintexas.org/" target="_blank">Visit Austin,</a> the city's tourism convention and visitors department. "We are a festival city."</p><p>The cancelation the SXSW festival (and its roughly 180 ancillary events) was a bellwether for an event industry decimated by the pandemic restrictions. </p><p>Local crews, performers and hospitality workers were hit early and hard and will likely feel the effects the longest, said Sara Henry of the <a href="http://www.austintexas.gov/ace" target="_blank">Austin Center for Events,</a> which oversees event permits. </p><p>"We're all very conscious of that and wanting to get people back to normal as quickly as possible," Henry said. "But with the understanding that those large events will probably be the last to recover." </p><p>Large crowds will be scarce in Austin for a while, agreed Jorge Garcia, founder of Curra's Grill and a member of the board for the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival, which has not yet confirmed its August dates. </p>"I don't foresee any of that happening any time soon," Garcia said.<p>Some organizers are staying optimistic. The ROT Biker Rally is still on for mid-June. Organizers of the city's 30th Annual Gay PRIDE Festival in August said in an April tweet they are "still committed to putting on a safe and joyous" celebration, which drew some 400,000 people last year.<br/></p><p>The permit office works daily with organizers, even those whose events are still scheduled, on whether the events can go on, Henry said. The office also consults with health officials, events experts and community leaders about what the "the new normal" might look like for mass gatherings this year and next, she said.</p><p>But with ever-shifting information on the virus and the response to it, major decisions are on hold.</p><p>"Everybody is waiting to see how things evolve through the public health crisis," Henry said. </p><p>As a habitual and enthusiastic festival attendee, Austin resident Anna Kong recognizes the impact on local workers but did find a silver lining: It's easier to stay home when there's nothing to miss out on. </p><p>"I usually go to fests to hang out with my friends," Kong said. "We've had camp meetings over Zoom, so it placates it for the time being."</p>
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(ACLFest)
A year ago this week, Austin resident Michelle Lambreton discovered that Cardi B was playing the Honda stage at Austin City Limits Festival 2019, and excitedly bought her tickets.
It's her favorite Austin event, and she's been going almost every year since it started in 2002.
"I would still be hearing music in my head for days after," Lambreton, 38, said.
<p>This year, Lambreton hears nothing but radio silence about the festival, which was expected to bring close to half a million fans to Zilker Park over the first two three-day weekends in October—before the coronavirus pandemic turned such gatherings into an infection risk. </p><p>ACL Fest 2020 has not been cancelled or changed, at this point, and no decisions have been made on whether it would be safe to move forward, one city official said. </p><p>"It's too early to tell at this point," said Jorge Ortega, senior public information specialist for the Austin Planning and Zoning Department. </p><p>But there is no announced lineup, no spring ticket sales, and no official word from organizers about where the festival stands right now.<br/></p><p>A poll of Austonia readers shows that 83% of them believe it won't happen as planned. </p><p>"I don't think 'normal' is something that we will get back to by October," Lambreton said.</p><p>Calls to event organizers C3 and Live Nation, ACL representatives, Austin Public Health and members of the City Council were unreturned. </p><p>A ticket seller at Front Gate Tickets, the official vendor for ACL tickets, said Monday they had not been given a sale date. Typically, the lineup is announced and tickets go on sale in late April and early May. </p><p>Other signs suggest to would-be festivalgoers that they may be in for a vastly smaller, or even virtual, ACL this year. </p><p>Last week, Austin's top health official, Dr. Mark Escott, cautioned against events like football games and festivals.</p><p>"I can expect that at least for the next six months, and perhaps the next year, that events like that are going to be very, very difficult to have, unless we have substantial increases in testing and other strategies to further mitigate the threat of those kind of events," he said.</p><p>He did not mention ACL Fest specifically.</p><p>Mayor Steve Adler has said the cancellation of SXSW helped Austin prevent the spread, but he has not commented on ACL Fest 2020.</p><p>Logistical problems over festivals and tours <a data-linked-post="2645721470" href="https://austonia.com/austin-musicians-in-dire-straits-as-pandemic-keeps-doors-closed-on-venues" target="_blank">that have already been shuffled</a> could make it impossible to commit to a lineup, said local musician William Harries Graham.</p><p>One Austinite who organizes conventions in town said that by January, she was unable to secure pandemic insurance. It was unclear whether ACL has that coverage, but <a data-linked-post="2645850913" href="https://austonia.com/sxsw-sued-over-no-refund-policy" target="_blank">SXSW did not</a>, organizers said.</p><p>There's also the question of hotel availability and sanitation. Some said they'll avoid large crowds for a while anyway.</p><p>"Do you really want to climb into a pit with 30,000 people that you don't know?" said Graham's father, recording artist Jon Dee Graham. "I don't think that putting Purell all over the place is going to take care of the problem." </p><p>It wouldn't be enough for Lambreton, who has autoimmune issues. </p><p>"I can only imagine a festival like that to be a perfect place for an outbreak," she said.</p><p><em>This story has been updated from the original with additional comments.</em></p>
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Two would-be festivalgoers have sued SXSW LLC after spending significant sums of money on entry fees that were not refunded when the event was canceled, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Austin on April 24.
<p>The lawsuit reads:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and all other persons who purchased wristbands, tickets, passes, and badges to the 2020 South by Southwest Festival, bring this action for breach of contract and unjust enrichment in order to recover monies paid for a festival that never occurred."</p><p>The festival <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/sxsw/sxsw-will-allow-2020-badges-to-be-deferred-to-a-future-festival/" target="_blank">did offer deferrals</a>, stating that the badges could be used at one of next three festivals, along with a half-price discount on a second registration.</p><p>SXSW LLC responded to inquiries about the lawsuit with this written statement from a spokesperson. It says in part:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"When Mayor Steve Adler issued an order on March 6, 2020, prohibiting SXSW from holding the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we understood and agreed with his tough call ... Due to the unique nature of SXSW's business, where we are reliant on one annual event, we incurred extensive amounts of non-recoupable costs well in advance of March. These expenditures, and the loss of expected revenue, have resulted in a situation where we do not have the money to issue refunds. SXSW, like many small businesses across the country, is in a dire financial situation requiring that we rely on our contracts, which have a clearly stated no refunds policy. Though we wish we were able to do more, we are doing our best to reconcile the situation and offered a deferral package option to purchasers of 2020 registrations."</p>
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