Ninety percent of independent venues surveyed by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) that summer said they feared shutting down without some kind of assistance.īut demand for live concerts is now back, and independent small venues are navigating a new market. The idea of being shut down for more than two days was unthinkable,” Fix Schaefer said. Audrey Fix Schaefer, communications director for I.M.P., remembers the feeling. I.M.P., and other independent music venues and promoters, had no shows, and therefore, no income. Already facing high costs such as rising rents, insurance and labor, as well as corporate competition, small, independent venues took another hit when COVID-19 forced officials to declare public health emergencies and ban mass gatherings, including indoor concerts. Three years ago, the opening of a new venue in the city, or anywhere in America, seemed impossible - nevermind significantly smaller ones, that have less potential for ticket revenue. This is an excitement when you see a band like that, there’s nothing like it.” “You’re sitting in basically the back of the floor and we’re right next to each other. “Here I am standing, sitting in front of the stage,” Hurtwitz said, on the floor of the Atlantis after their first week of shows in May. owner and chairman Seth Hurwitz, the thrills that come with seeing live music in an intimate, smaller, venue was the point. (The largest, Merriweather Post Pavilion, is an outdoor amphitheater with grounds that can hold more than 19,000 people.) But for I.M.P. The other venues it owns, operates, or books, are at least three times as large. The concert hall is a tribute to the original 9:30 club, a beloved and intimate live music space that first opened 44 years ago and lives on in a larger location, also owned by I.M.P, next door. opened the Atlantis in April, it was the independent music production company’s fifth venue in greater Washington, D.C.
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