Mike Chadinha has made a lot of tough announcements over the last few months. Count the cancellation of July’s Uplift Music Festival among them.
Eric Gagne can relate; as the executive director of The Glass Museum, he made the decision in March that the 13th iteration of Thing in the Spring, which was scheduled to begin one week from today, would not go on as planned. On Tuesday, co-director of Hillfest in New Ipswich Chad Gibson announced its 2020 Christian music festival in July was not to be. And they are not alone.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep people from gathering, the summer music calendar in the Monadnock region shrinks with each passing week. With safety the top priority, there is just no safe way right now to put on musical performances that draw large audiences.
“We’ve canceled so many shows,” Chadinha said, who also organizes the Peterborough Concert Series. “It’s almost become normal.”
Would performers be able to make it? Would people even show up? Would live music even be allowed? Those are the questions organizers have been forced to grapple with.
Gagne has seen Thing in the Spring grow from an idea to a four-day experience that features shows in the Unitarian Church and on the roof of Toadstool Bookshop, and has expanded to include readings and movies at the Peterborough Community Theater. And while it wasn’t an easy decision to announce, Gagne knew canceling was the only decision he could make.
With headliners coming from as far away as Germany and Australia – with the stop in Peterborough part of larger tours – there was no way of knowing what things would look like when Thing in the Spring rolled around. And with the start of June just days away, the music world remains at a standstill.
“If you put a hole in it at any point, the question is do we want to try to make this work?” Gagne said. “Without all the infrastructure and logistics lined up, it would essentially be the few area people involved.”
There was no real thought to hosting it outdoors.
“The last thing I wanted to do is to make a new plan and have the weather (not cooperate),” Gagne said.
The hope is to bring back performers slated for this year in 2021, but it’s hard to tell what availability might look like.
“Since things got shut down, everyone’s schedule is off,” Gagne said. “Normally I’d start booking for next year around now, but things are so unsettled.”
Uplift was set to move back to Greenfield this summer on July 17, but with needing to make a decision, Chadinha saw the writing on the wall.
“It was kind of an easy decision,” Chadinha said. “Because nothing had shifted. How could we have 1,000 people watching a concert in a field in a few months? We didn’t feel like it made sense to hold on.”
With the one-day festival at Oak Park just over two months away, Chadinha was forced to add yet another cancellation to his list, which includes a handful of shows for Peterborough Concert Series.
“Live music is a lot of what people live for,” Chadinha said. “But I didn’t want to rush it. It’s important to not lose sight of people’s safety.”
Chadinha said he’s been in touch with all the bands scheduled to perform and all are interested in next year. But Chadinha is in no rush to start planning just yet.
“We’ll see what it looks like in six months,” he said. “And how it will come back will be very interesting.”
Hillfest was set for July 11 and organizers help out hope for as long as possible, but came to the same conclusion as others.
“Our team has delayed in sending this difficult message for as long as possible, hanging on to the possibility of holding our summer event as planned. As time and extenuating circumstances have revealed though, a July festival will not be feasible this year,” the announcement said.
On a bright note, July 17 was announced as the date for Hillfest 2021 and organizers have already began working on booking artists for 2021, and will make an announcement on the lineup once everything in confirmed.
Marty’s Driving Range owner Nicole Ruggiero was just about to announce her mainstage lineup for the summer when the pandemic hit and now her time has been filled with canceling shows, tentatively rescheduling them and hoping for the best. Ruggiero said she hopes to start up social distancing take out shows from the lawn at some point, but as of right now the music has been silenced.
Stephanie Porter, executive director of Team Jaffrey, said the Concerts of the Common would not be held this year due to the pandemic.
Monadnock Music has switched to an all virtual season, including six “village” concerts instead of its traditional season in venues across the region. As of now, Monadnock Music’s Listen & Lunch in Depot Square on Thursdays, July through September, will go on.
In person shows for Peterborough Folk Music and Deb’s House Concerts have been put on hold, but there are a couple of live stream shows coming up, starting with Joe Crookston on May 31 at 4 p.m., followed by Mark Erelli June 23 at 7 p.m.
Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music has shifted to hosting an abbreviated, online summer program, including a Tuesday night concert series beginning June 16 and three, week-long sessions for free. According to Apple Hill’s announcement, “Open to all, this combination of concerts, lectures, and discussions will embody the unique and diverse music-making of the Apple Hill community.” Links to live streams will be on the Apple Hill website (https://applehill.org/) and shared the following day on their YouTube channel.
While a final decision has not been made, the hope is that the Music in Depot Park will begin as scheduled on July 10, while working within the parameters of state guidelines.
Gagne does have something to look forward to, as Nova Arts, a new venture he is part of in Keene, has some exciting things coming up as it launches a new performance space on Emerald Street inside the new Brewbakers with everything from music and literature, to poetry and comedians.
It will be difficult navigating the current times, but Gagne is excited to move in the direction of live performances.
“We have to figure out a way forward. There’s a way to do it,” Gagne said. “But the only way to do it is to be super strict with precautions. Because safety is paramount.”