WHAT:
SAVE OUR STAGES “ONE YEAR DARK” MARQUEE CAMPAIGN - Independent music venues across the country will be putting up similar messaging on their marquees, such as “One Year Dark” and “No Shows Since 3/13/20,” in recognition of one year being shuttered due to COVID-19.
WHO:
Independent music venues across the United States including Another Planet Entertainment venues in the SF Bay Area.
Participating venues in the Bay Area include:
August Hall (SF)
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (SF)
Bimbos 365 Club (SF)
Café Du Nord (SF)
Great American Music Hall (SF)
SFJAZZ (SF)
Swedish American Music Hall (SF)
The Independent (SF)
Fox Theater – Oakland (Oakland)
Golden Bull (Oakland)
The New Parish (Oakland)
Ashkenaz (Berkeley)
Cornerstone (Berkeley)
Freight & Salvage (Berkeley)
Starry Plough (Berkeley)
The UC Theatre (Berkeley)
Ivy Room (Albany)
Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center (Livermore)
The Ritz (San Jose)
Plus, even more venues that do not have marquees will be supporting via their social media accounts.
WHEN:
Saturday, March 13, 2021
WHY:
March 13, 2021 marks one year that the live music industry was brought to a halt due to COVID-19. Venues across the country closed their doors to the public and those doors continue to remain closed a full year later. The Save Our Stages “One Year Dark” marquee and aligned social media campaign reflect on this unfortunate anniversary.
Music venues and performing arts theaters were the first to close in the pandemic and will be that last group of businesses allowed to reopen due to government-mandated pandemic closures. This class of small business has the highest at-risk factor for failure, three to four times higher than the average small business. Saving independent music and performing arts stages across the country not only rescues the beloved ecosystems of arts, music and culture but also secures hundreds of local jobs per venue. It saves the stages that your favorite artists perform on (as well as where they got their start, built, and nurtured their careers). They are facing an existential crisis. Supporting independent music venues and theaters allows them to hang on and persevere the closures caused by the pandemic.
The live events and entertainment industry contributes over $877 billion into the economy. At 4.5% of the GDP, arts and entertainment is second only to retail. A collapse of this industry would ripple into restaurants, travel and transportation, hospitality, vendors, landlords and much more. For every $1 spent on a ticket at a small music venue, $12 are spent in the local economy on related services.
OFFICIAL HASHTAGS:
#oneyeardark
#saveourstage
About Another Planet Entertainment:
Established in 2003, Another Planet Entertainment (APE) is the largest independent promoter in the U.S. and has produced and promoted thousands of events with artists as diverse as Radiohead, Beyonce, Neil Young, Kendrick Lamar, Adele, Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Lizzo, Metallica, Bruno Mars, twenty one pilots, Bruce Springsteen, Mumford & Sons, Zedd, Paul McCartney, Florence + The Machine and Kanye West. Named Top Independent Promoter (U.S.) by Billboard Magazine in 2015 and 2016 and Top Independent Promoter (Worldwide) in 2017, APE is the exclusive promoter for the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, the Fox Theater in Oakland, the historic Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, The Independent in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys as well as co-promoter of Oxbow RiverStage in Downtown Napa. APE also operates private events division Another Planet Events and an artist management arm, Another Planet Management, with a roster that includes two-time GRAMMY-nominated artist Tycho. APE also produces two award-winning festivals – Outside Lands (since 2008) in San Francisco and Life Is Beautiful (since 2013) in Downtown Las Vegas. For more information, visit APEConcerts.com.
