Congress adjourning without acting on legislation to help endangered live music venues could result in permanent closures, says a NIVA rep.

“It’s shocking that they don’t just stay until they figure it out,” says Audrey Fix Schaefer of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), speaking about Congress adjourning Thursday without taking up federal legislation to relieve businesses hardest hit by the pandemic. While many Americans are in distress without a relief package, Schaefer believes that the nation’s clubs and small theaters stand the least chance of being able to ride out a long quarantine and survive, given their “first to close, last to reopen” status. If it takes a month or longer for Congress to get its act together, NIVA believes a lot more of the country’s most beloved live entertainment hotspots will look at their increasing debt loads and finally have to declare that the gig is up… so to speak.

Source: Live Music Venues Say Congress Adjourning Endangers Clubs, Theaters – Variety