Last spring the National Independent Venues Association (NIVA) brought together small independent music venues from around the country — places like the Grog Shop, the Beachland and the Happy Dog — to lobby for relief from the federal government. Forced to shut down, and unlikely to be operating at full steam until 2022, they projected as many as 90% of them might go out of business.
Their “Save Our Stages” campaign was successful, and starting Thursday April 8, not only music venues, but live stages, museums and movie theaters impacted by loss of audiences/visitors, will be able to apply for a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Applications will be accepted on a first-come/first-served basis with the hardest hit — those that lost more than 90% of their income — first in line.