Only last month the Government announced plans for live gigs to make a return on August 1st. But now, the government has done a 180 degree turn and has gone back to say they are now postponing the return of live music performances. This comes after there has been an increase in coronavirus cases over the past month so Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reversed his decision to re-open music venues.

Below is Frank Turner’s blog post about his own socially distanced gig, in which he concluded, “This is not the start of a series of shows like this – that’d bankrupt everyone involved.” He did, on the other hand, continue, “But it was, as I say, a gesture of cooperation, an attempt to feel out the situation with an eye to taking steps in a better direction.” Turner admitted that he had really missed playing live to an audience, and said that “It turns out, live music really, really matters.”

A blog post about last night’s show:https://t.co/hrc7q9ILC4

(pic by @CorinneDinDin) pic.twitter.com/nXiMOu6mtU

— Frank Turner (@frankturner) July 29, 2020

With the new rules that come into force on the 8th of August, it seems as though face masks would be enforced if the venues were to open anyway. This would be in the best interests of all those involved in the opening.

It may seem to some as though this is a slight step back but it is a necessary one. From the trials that have taken place, it does seem as though the socially distanced gigs have not quite gone the way they would have hoped them to. Frank Turner recently held a live, socially distanced gig at the Clapham Grand, which was marked as a failure by venue manager Ally Wolf. “It can’t be the future for live music, it can’t be the future for venues”, he said.

Recently, there has been a rise in live-streamed gigs. This could mark the future for gigs during lockdown as they have gone down a treat with those who have taken part in them. This will at least give fans something to watch and venues and artists money coming in.