Canadian musicians and music venues are scrambling to adapt to new restrictions announced last week in response to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
“Thinking of all the musicians having to cancel shows they worked so hard to plan and execute safely,” tweeted singer-songwriter Donovan Woods on Friday. “Hang in there. We need you, we need you. We’ll wait.”
Last week, several provincial governments announced a return to 50 percent capacity in bars and music venues. In Quebec, audiences must not exceed 250 people.
With the restrictions going into effect either on Sunday or Monday, depending on the province, venues had little time to adapt.
“Ticket holders in affected performances will be contacted by email with ticket options,” read a message on the Instagram account for Toronto’s recently reopened Massey Hall. “We appreciate your patience.”
The iconic venue is hosting a pair of shows by The Tenors this week but doesn’t have any music acts booked until late January.
Caesars Windsor in Ontario has shuttered its 5,000-capacity Colosseum, which was set to host The Tenors and Tyler Shaw on Sunday night.
“The health, safety, and well-being of our employees and guests are our highest priority and we continue to work closely with our government and public health partners to protect against the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” Caesars Windsor president Kevin Laforet said, in a release. “We will monitor the guidelines for live entertainment and provide ongoing updates.”
Casino Rama, a popular entertainment venue north of Toronto, announced it has postponed all shows scheduled for January and February – including Air Supply and Gordon Lightfoot – “due to provincial capacity restrictions and in an ongoing effort to follow health & safety recommendations.”
The Road Hammers had to cancel two New Year's concerts at the legendary El Mocambo in Toronto. "The show will be rescheduled for the new year and tickets will be honoured accordingly," they told fans on Instagram. "Stay Safe friends!"
Fans of country star Dierks Bentley are awaiting word on the fate of his 11-date Canadian tour in January.
Music artist Shaun Frank took aim at government. “Waiting until Friday evening to force promoters to cancel shows is absolutely criminal,” he tweeted. “Artists have already flown in. Hotels have been purchased. Staff has been booked. When are we gonna just stop listening to these clowns?
“One person dies of omicron. Canada ‘shut it all down.’ Canadians [applaud].”
Shawn Desman, who had pop hits in Canada in the early 2000s, also took to social media to express frustration. “Oh and someone please remind me what percentage of the population was vaxxed last Xmas when we were told not to gather? Oh right, ZERO. What percentage are we at now? Oh right, pretty much 90% (including myself)…Remember folks ‘vaccines are our way out of this’ What a joke.”
Others are more understanding. Kevin Frank, who plays in a band called Spyre, tweeted that he had to cancel a show. "I'm out the money I spent producing them and I don't care,” he wrote. “I just don't want any more people to get sick.”
Last week, Canadian band July Talk announced via social media that the band postponed the six remaining shows on its tour after “one of the members of our touring family” tested positive for COVID-19.
Earlier this month, Canadian musician Gordon Deppe was forced to pull out of several A Flock of Seagulls dates in the U.S. after testing positive for COVID-19 and singer-songwriter Dallas Green pulled the plug on several City and Colour shows due to a positive test.
Canadian musician Les Emmerson of the Five Man Electrical Band died on Dec. 10 of complications of COVID-19.
South of the border, Doja Cat, Brett Eldredge, the Jonas Brothers and Megan Thee Stallion are among the acts who last week scrapped performances due to positive COVID-19 test results on their teams.