On June 15, California will decide whether to lift COVID-19 restrictions and fully re-open businesses. For Central Coast music venues and musicians — who have been on hold since 2020 — preparations for summer concerts are underway.
Monte Schaller, general manager at The Siren in Morro Bay, said it’s been a long time since the club has presented live music.
“The last ticketed show that we did for a touring artist was March 13 or 14, and then we had one free local event in June. So yeah, it’s been about a year,” Schaller said.
Before the pandemic, The Siren brought live music to capacity crowds of 300 indoors. With the possibility of lifted Covid-19 restrictions, Schaller said he is thinking about bookings again.
“It makes it a little challenging because I usually like to be a month to three months ahead on my booking, especially with the larger, touring acts,” he said.
According to Governor Gavin Newsom, California can fully reopen if vaccines are readily available and hospitalization rates remain low. Some guidelines like masks or capacity limits may remain, but that won’t be known until the June 15 announcement. In the meantime, music venues are moving forward with cautious optimism.
Schaller is preparing. He said bookings are tentative and most of the bands are re-scheduled events from 2020. He said he will publicize the summer schedule when he knows more about the requirements for indoor venues.
“We’re not at the point where we’re putting it in front of the public as a teaser yet, but a lot of stuff we would be ready to announce very soon, if we got the green light,” Schaller said.
The Siren also has a new outdoor venue at El Chorro Regional Park across from Cuesta College. The location will accommodate thousands of people once they’re ready to open. He said they are not booking events yet.
“We can do events anywhere on the 700 acres that exist out there. We also do have a bar and restaurant that we are remodeling currently and we’re probably about halfway done,” Schaller said.
A little further south, the Pismo Breeze concert series takes place outdoors at Dinosaur Caves Park during the summer months and draws anywhere from 150 to 300 people per event.
Colleen Ghiglia from the Pismo Recreation Department said the concerts usually start on Mother’s Day, but not this year.
“We pushed it back a little knowing that new guidance would come out June 15 and restrictions would ease – hopefully, we’ll see,” Ghiglia said.
She said there are three concerts lined up for the summer series starting July 18.
Ghiglia is confident the events will happen and said it’s just a matter of adjusting for whatever guidelines are still in place — like masks or distancing.
“Dancing may actually be at your own pod instead of on the amphitheater,” she said.
The Molly Ringwald Project is a local band booked for Pismo Breeze in August. Roxanne Morganstern, a lead vocalist for the 80s dance band, said they are ready to perform, as soon as it’s safe to do so.
“I’m optimistic — it’s happening, it’s just a matter of how fast. I personally right now feel very comfortable with outdoor performances,” Morganstern said.
She said there’s increased activity among bands and venues up and down the Central Coast in anticipation of reopening. Her band is communicating with venues ready to re-book for 2021.
The Molly Ringwald Project is known for their high energy shows with lots of singing and dancing. Morganstern especially likes to perform songs by Journey.
“I love singing anything that Steve Perry does, his voice range is right in the pocket of my voice and I just love those long belting songs,” Morganstern said.
The KCBX Arts Beat is made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County.
