**Updated Wed. 9 at 1:30 pm (CST): Emo Night Brooklyn tweets out that their Sept. 11 event in Oklahoma is canceled.
The show in OKC has been cancelled
— Emo Night Brooklyn (@EmoNight_BK) September 9, 2020
Heavy online backlash is the assumed cause of the cancellation.
who knows when live music will come back but thank goodness Emo Night Brooklyn will risk it all to shuffle a spotify playlist while the artists on it are out of work :-) pic.twitter.com/lHfMfndhGS
— 2 kat 2 furious (@whackkat) September 8, 2020
His lipstick, his collar, don’t bother angel, I know he contracted COVID from an emo night.
Or something like that.
The event was a re-scheduled date that was canceled during the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
The national emo night posted on their Facebook yesterday that the event, being held at the venue 89th Street-OKC, will not exceed 50% capacity.
“We believe the party can continue, safely … temperatures will be checked at the door, and mask-wearing will be required. Please contact the venue for more info on safety protocols.”
On Aug. 25, 89th Street posted on their Facebook page saying that they will be opened in September with limited capacity and mask requirements.So far, their website lists two other in-person events, one virtual show and a rescheduled concert for October.
Music writer Dan Ozzi wrote in his newsletter, Reply-Alt, about the recklessness of the event:
“Whether this individual event is relatively safe or not misses the point. Indoor gatherings of intoxicated and horny people are going to be spreaders on some level, plain and simple. And the more that happens, the more delays we all have to buckle down for.”
Most events and concerts were put on hold thanks to the coronavirus. Recent reports say the total cases of the virus in the U.S. is at 6.33 million including 189,000 deaths. Oklahoma reports 10,698 new cases and 123 deaths. The state overall contributes a total of over 65,000 confirmed cases and 854 deaths.
Similarly, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that rolled on last month has contributed to 260,000 new COVID cases, says NBC News. The ten-day event brought more than 400,000 people as well as performers like Smash Mouth, Trapt and Puddle of Mudd.
Many states have travel restrictions, masks mandates plus the heartbreaking separation of loved ones who are infected by COVID who are forced to deal with the disease alone to deter transmission to other individuals.
https://twitter.com/matthewisanerd/status/1303479638673502214?s=20
Emo Nite LA, which is a separate night entity from Emo Night Brooklyn, tweeted out their feelings about the event:
just to be 100% clear. we are NOT affiliated with @emonight_bk and WE are not having any IRL events until it is safe. countless bands, venues, crew members & more have lost months of work due to this pandemic. this type of irresponsibility is only going to set us back further. https://t.co/XYBlSKbetg
— emo nite (@emonitela) September 8, 2020
Shows have been on pause since the start of the COVID pandemic causing some venues to shutter for good; people out of work and unable to collect unemployment, artists unable to generate income from touring, proper releases etc. The music industry is campaigning to congress to pass the RestartAct and SaveOurStagesAct which would allow sufficient funding, which many venues were not eligible for with PPP loans, to venue owners to keep the lights on at independent music venues.
A thread by the Social Media Director of Metro Chicago tweeted out his personal thoughts and experience about the state of the industry:
This pandemic has put countless friends of mine out of work. It has killed nearly 200THOUSAND people and continues to be a divisive topic in the US. You add on racial injustices, unemployment benchmarks and general civil unrest and you best believe we're looking at history
— brett is 🆗 (@brett_cra) September 8, 2020
The outcry from audiences and those in the industry concerning in-person events of any kind echoes especially to those unable to perform. If bands themselves who’s tracks are being looped through a Spotify playlist can’t get up on stage, neither should a DJ. For more information on how to help the music scene, visit saveourstages.com and NIVA.org.
New Fury Media reached out to Emo Night Brooklyn for comment but has yet to hear back.
Emo Night Brooklyn was started in 2015 by friends Alex and Evan, and began touring that same year. Other emo nites, national and local, have created virtual emo nights this year due to COVID.
