Live entertainment is back in California. How Sacramento-area venues are getting ready

In March 2020, The B Street Theatre’s calendar was wiped clean, more than half of its staff was furloughed, and the building was closed indefinitely. Now, 13 of its remaining employees are set to welcome back a community of theater fans to a group that’s survived 15 months of closure and a global pandemic.

The B Street Theatre, located in midtown Sacramento, had only run its show “Byhalia, Mississippi” for one week before COVID-19 forced California to shut down all in-person performances. Nearly 300 virtual events later, the theater will reopen for in-person performances in July.

As Sacramento and California reopen a wide range of businesses on June 15, live entertainment venue leaders are left piecing their once-booming venues back together. Lyndsay Burch, the associate artistic director of the B Street Theatre, said it will take time to rebuild the business and win back patrons.

“I know a lot of musicians and patrons alike really lost their identity during (the pandemic), and so I feel like it’s going to be a slow build to get back to it, and I hope that we all are patient with one another,” Burch said.

As California fully reopens the economy, social distancing restrictions will be lifted. Vaccinated Californians will be able to go maskless in social settings, though unvaccinated residents should continue to wear face coverings, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Where to see live music and plays in the Sacramento region this summer

The B Street Theatre holds fewer than 5,000 patrons, so proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test isn’t required to attend shows. But because it’s a private business, Burch said the reopening committee has yet to decide what they’ll enforce in July.

Burch said while there are still many questions to be answered before their reopening, the theater has decided to become a more paperless business. Patrons will be able to access their tickets and programs on their smartphones to curb the spread of viruses.

“You certainly don’t want to alienate someone or make them feel invasive or uncomfortable, but you do want to put the health and safety of not just your customers, but your staff and your artists as paramount,” she said. “This is sort of what I think a lot of businesses are running into.”

Live music in Sacramento

At other Sacramento venues, many are eager to reopen but perplexed by how it’s happening. For Marina Texeira, owner of the Torch Club in downtown Sacramento, the reopening of California will happen too quickly.

“We are going from zero to 100 ... It’s very odd to me,” she said. “I had anticipated opening at 50%.”

Texeira said before the pandemic, her indoor club was a hub for live music, dancing and cocktails. When the venue hosted its last show before closing its doors on March 14, 2020, she was devastated.

To survive the 15-month drought, Texeira said she diligently applied for loans and grants. But to remain connected with the community, she pivoted her business to livestream events to connect her patrons to live music again.

“We pretty much made that decision within the first week that we were going to continue to post and become activists for whatever we could to help aid the musicians,” said Dana Moret, the media manager of the Torch Club.

Moret said the live streams gave artists like herself an opportunity to make money as well as transition into a different medium.

The Band Hayez was among those artists.

Founded by lead singer Alicia Huff in 2017, the five-member Band Hayez consists of a drummer, two interchangeable bass players and one piano player who performed primarily virtual events throughout the pandemic. So when they were finally able to all come together again to perform outdoors at Downtown Commons in April, Huff said the experience was euphoric.

“It didn’t feel like we had skipped a beat, like we missed anything,” Huff, 28, said. “It felt like coming home.”

Huff’s main source of income is performing, and while she’s already booked for the entire month of June, she’s nervous to return to in-person performances without social distancing restrictions.

“I’m just looking at what I’m seeing with the little bit of people that are coming out, and if you’re saying that everything is about to be open ... that’s a little scary,” she said. “But we’re going to create a new normal and find a way to all be safe and kind to each other.”

Similarly, Texeira and Burch are stumped about how to plan a reopening that’s contingent on the ever-changing news of the pandemic and the absence of masks.

Before the pandemic, the blues-based Torch Club, which holds approximately 100 patrons, was open six days a week and hosted two live shows a day. Come the club’s reopening date on June 17, Marina said she and her eight fully vaccinated employees will welcome back the community four days a week to a club that’s transitioned into a show-based venue.

“With any major catastrophe or historical event, things evolve, and there’s a renaissance and change happens,” she said. “So it will be interesting to see what that change is.”