Most of us in this industry don’t know what it’s like to gave weekends off. When COVID hit and we were sent home for “2 weeks”, we left the lights on in the office. Those were the longest two weeks ever! As we sat home seeing things develop on the media, most of us were talking to industry peers and trying to keep our teams motivated and calm. I personally never thought I’d see our entire industry shut down. Dance floors went silent, festivals and concerts cancelled, and an entire industry came to a sudden stop.

Initially, I think most of us welcomed a bit of rest and enjoyed having a weekend off, but there were lots of concerns with regards to the short term and long-term impact, not just financial but emotional as well as. As we tried to make sense of navigating through filing for unemployment which was a total nightmare, the worries started to mount, and this situation became real. Watching the news and the numbers climb, a sense of fear took over. We no longer felt safe going out and if you did, we were wearing masks, gloves, keeping our distance so we wouldn’t come in contact with anyone. This struck at the core of what our industry was all about! Isn’t that what we ultimately promote? We promote gatherings of friends, where they make new friends and create new everlasting memories. Where dancing, hugging and being together is the norm. Somehow, an invisible enemy had brought the entire world to a standstill and threatened to dismantle all we had worked so hard to create, maintain and develop.

I for one, never took for granted what I had been doing for the last 30 years. I still get the same feeling of excitement when we’re putting together a show; when doors are about to open, and you get the feeling that something exciting is about to happen. I spent time doing a lot of self-reflecting, spending more time with my children. Reconnected with friends where I wasn’t rushing to get off the phone because I had to tend to business. I found time to be creative again and started to make music again; not because I thought I was going to release any of the productions, but it felt so good to have the time to just be creative again and make time for “me”.

Covid was and continues to be brutal. It has taken loved ones from us and showed us just how powerless and vulnerable we are. On the other hand, it has also shown us that life is what you make of it. Time is that one gift that money cannot buy. How we choose to spend it is up to us. I’m thankful for the lesson’s life continues to teach me. Don’t take things for granted. Be nice; do things for others without expecting anything back, always pay it forward, lead by example and always live in the moment. Sometimes we’re living something truly special and if you’re not self-aware, you won’t realize the importance of that moment until later in life.

Yours in music.

Manolo

Most of us in the nightlife & hospitality industry at some point wondered what our industry would look like once we were allowed to reopen. As an operator, I was conflicted between “it will come back stronger than ever” and “people will be very cautious and ease back into things”. As I sat trying to come up with different plans, I had a responsibility to owners, investors, staff, agents, managers, talent, and the list goes on. My concerns were mutually shared with other industry peers that were faced with the same challenges.

We had put together a safety plan to ensure the safety of guests when the time came to re-open with temperature checks, sanitizing stations, deep cleaning every section of our venues, installing safety barriers in between each section, to masks and gloves. We had come up with plan to scale shows properly to ensure the integrity of each event, provide a safe environment for all our guests and staff and to make sure we were working in tandem will all parties involved so everyone was protected not just from a health perspective, but also financially. We factored all of this thinking we’d be able to reopen at 50% capacity but as things had been put in place, it didn’t seem like 50% capacity would even be allowed, so we had to go back t drawing board and rescale everything to 25% capacity. Shows were postponed and rescheduled for later dates, artwork redone, staff notified. They were very uneasy times. Just as we were setting into what seemed like it was a new reality to relaunch, we were given all clear and reopen at 100% capacity. We went from what seemed like an indefinite holding pattern, to all system go!

The question then was how will the scene react to the news? We all waited patiently to see the reaction and waited for the moment of truth. Well, it was worth the long wait. Ticket sales spiked, the phones started ringing and it seemed like the message was loud and clear; we’re back! The wait was over and after 1 long 15-month break, dance floors became alive, and the monster was roaring again. Seemed like people had enough and couldn’t wait to be free again. Free to see their friends, make new ones and let loose. And that they did! The demand has been greater than anything I’ve seen in my career. Shows are selling out; people are making plans and they are getting back to living.

Life is never going to be perfect. The key is to enjoy the moments and realize that things can change quickly and without warning. Enjoy and appreciate the good times, count your blessings, and learn from the not so good times. Like the saying says, “you’ll never appreciate sweetness if you haven’t tasted bitterness”.

Yours in music,

Manolo