Vulnerable venues: The effort to preserve Philly’s stages

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, local music venues have been unable to produce live entertainment for large crowds in more than a year. This has left stages across the city in the dark and has jeopardized their future as platforms for emerging and established talent.

So, what are the plans to preserve Philadelphia’s vulnerable venues? How can individuals access the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant? And what ways can patrons offer their support in the meantime?

WHYY convened local promoters and musicians to discuss the pandemic’s impact on the creative economy and explore the future of live entertainment. This conversation was co-hosted by Yamaha Synth artist Dan Rouse, who composed the theme for WHYY-TV 12’s Shades of Black, and Amir “The Bul Bey” Richardson, WHYY’s Community Curator for Philadelphia.

Panelists included Chris Perella, owner of Ardmore Music Hall; Kerri Park, chief operating officer of World Cafe Live; Jim Thorpe, owner of DVT events; and Fatin and Aja Dantzler of Kindred the Family Soul.