The popular Blue Note Jazz Club and Restaurant is finally re-opening their doors to jazz lovers and music enthusiasts alike, with a set capacity limit of 25 percent.
Promotion for Blue Note’s first night of re-opening.
I am very happy to announce that the Blue Note will reopen for dining this holiday season. The safety of our guests is our highest priority and our staff is working around the clock to ensure our guests have a comfortable dining experience.
Steven Bensusan, President of Blue Note Entertainent Group
Blue Note originally had to close because of the Covid-19 shutdown. Although they kept active by streaming live shows online, there’s nothing like an in-person jazz experience.
Starting Nov. 27, the club will provide dinner services for selected evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., along with brunch on selected weekends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dining packages will also be available to guests who want to experience the “magic of the holidays,” at Blue Note. The diners will be able to experience a list of respectable musicians while eating their meals.
The Greenwich Village club has been around for almost four decades. Opening in 1981, Blue Note became a center for culture and music in New York City. They are known as one of the premier jazz clubs in the world, where they strive to preserve the history of jazz. In the past, they featured renowned artists like, Chick Corea, Joe Lovano, John Scofield, and Chris Botti. The club also frequently promotes up-and-coming jazz, hip-hop, R&B and soul musicians.
Dining packages start at $45 per person, while livestream access is $10. Regardless of whether you would like to enjoy a meal in the presence of a jazz show or do the same thing from home, all the information and payments can be made at Blue Note’s website.
Incidental Music Calendar:
Maurice “Mobetta” Brown Residency – Nov 24, Dec 4, Dec 11, Dec 18
Eddie Palmieri Residency – Nov 28, Dec 5, Dec 12, Dec 19, Dec 26
After eight long months of being shut down, The Park Theater in Glens Falls is proud to announce they will open their doors. On Nov. 18 the venue with host an event; ‘Dinner & A Movie: A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood.’
Cover art for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.
The screening of the movie will be accompanied with a three-course meal by Chef Matthew J. Delos. The guests will have their choice between three entrees and two different dessert. The 2019 film is about the late Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers, played by Tom Hanks and his friendship with investigative journalist, Lloyd Vogel, played by Matthew Rhys. According to a press release by the theater, the movie “tells a story of kindness, empathy, acceptance and transformation.”
The Park Theater has been an entertainment staple in Glens Falls since 1911, where the town would watch silent films and vaudeville shows. In 1935, they closed their doors until The Post-Star bought and transformed the building into a printing plant. Over the years, numerous organizations tried to maintain the building’s reputation as a performing arts center, only to really make a change in 2018 by returning to its original name, The Park Theater and Doc’s Restaurant downstairs.
For the event, doors open at 5 PM, dinner starts at 5:30 PM and the movie will begin an hour after dinner service starts. The tickets are $60 (+tax) per person and can be purchased online or call the box office at 518-792-1150. The theater recommends buying tickets sooner rather than later because seats are bound to go quickly after not having an event for so long.
Mr. Rogers inspired children and adults throughout his career. This film demonstrates the impact he had on not only viewers of his show, but also his personal relationships.
I think the best thing we can do is to let people know that each one of them is precious.
Mr. Rogers
Event Poster for The Park Theater
For more information visit The Park Theater’s website.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced on Monday, August 31 that indoor performance venues would be allowed to reopen, with reduced capacity, starting Sept. 4.
New Jersey Performing Arts Center pre-COVID.
Included in the executive order are music venues, performance centers and movie theaters.
Murphy’s rules are simple: continue to follow CDC recommended guidelines, and along with the recommendations, a capacity limit is in place at 25% or 150 people.
NEW: Today, I’m signing an Executive Order allowing for movie theaters and other indoor performance venues to reopen on Friday, September 4th. ☑️Face masks required ☑️Social distancing required ☑️Capacity will be capped at the lesser of either 25% capacity, or 150 people
Although for many artists this is good news, travel restrictions and capacity limits are still a concern as far as profiting off of the shows go.
Around 40 clubs and venues in New Jersey are members of the National Independent Venues Association, which made headlines last month when they started the #SaveOurStages Act. They continue to petition for nationwide financial aid to struggling music venues.
According to nj.com, some industry workers believe there will be a huge turn out with large-scale events, while others don’t think the country is even close to going back to any normalcy.
Ticketed music events will now be banned at bars, restaurants, and similar venues in the state of New York due to new coronavirus guidelines for Stage 3 and 4 reopening for licensed on premise establishments released on August 18, 2020. These new guidelines prohibit these establishments in NY from offering live music that customers pay for separately.
The Hollow, Albany – photo by Zach Culver.
Not only do they prohibit ticketing music events but prohibit any events where a patron has to buy a ticket. On top of that it prohibits venues from advertising live entertainment. These new guidelines will bring all events that have been planned by venues to a screeching halt. Music will be allowed at establishments but has to be “incidental” music according to the rules posted in Q&A format on the State Liquor Authority website. Incidental music basically means music can be at performed at establishments but it can’t be advertised and promoted as a reason people should go to the establishment.
“Restaurants and other on premises food and beverage establishments that have a license through the SLA are only allowed to offer on-premise music if their license certificate specifically allows for such activity (i.e., live music, DJ, recorded, etc.). A manufacturer that has an on premises license also must assure that its on premises license certificate specifically allows for the type of music it is offering. A manufacturer without a separate on premises license may offer music unless its license certificate specifically prohibits such music.
If offering music, indoors or out, all relevant aspects of the respective Department of Health guidance dining must be followed, e.g., patrons should not be standing except for necessary reasons (e.g., restroom, entering/exiting), standing patrons should wear face coverings, etc. Performers should be at least 12 feet from patrons.
All other forms of live entertainment, such as exotic dancing, comedy shows, karaoke etc., are not permissible currently regardless of phase.
Additionally, please note that only incidental music is permissible at this time. This means that advertised and/or ticketed shows are not permissible. Music should be incidental to the dining experience and not the draw itself.”
New York State Phase 3/4 Guidelines for Licensed On-Premises Establishments Answer for “Can I have live entertainment or a DJ in my indoor or outdoor dining area?”
This new coronavirus guidelines will disproportionately hurt musicians and venue operators. Many musicians depend on ticketed events for income. Many bars and venues depend on special music events to pay the bills. According the New York Upstate article Julie Leone, who is co-owner of The 443 Social Club & Lounge on Burnet Avenue in Syracuse had spoken to a State Liquor Authority enforcement officer August 18 and, “Was told the agency could automatically suspend the liquor licenses for any venues found to be advertising shows. That seems to be different from regular enforcement, in which officers physically visit the venues to verify non-compliance.”
To many, this guideline seems shocking, unfair, and far out of left field. It will effectively shut down many establishments again that have only recently been able to reopen. These guidelines were implemented with the intention to try to keep people from mingling for prolonged periods of time to help contain the spread of the virus by Governor Andrew Cuomo and other state officials but to musicians and venue operators it feels like an attack on the music industry.
Funk n’ Waffles, Syracuse – photo by Josh Davis.
Dave Ehmann, owner and founder at Adirondack Independence Music Festival elaborated on his feelings about this implementation of these guidelines on his Facebook page saying, “I don’t know about anyone else but I feel like someone needs to hear enough is enough with this bullshit. This is nothing more than a straight up attack on the music industry. Why aren’t we yelling louder and pushing back? It’s gone way past being safe into straight up nonsense. Peaceful protests are in order here.”
The Haunt, Ithaca – photo by Casey Martin
Adam Gold, owner of Syracuse’s well know Funk ‘n Waffles gave his two cents on the new guidelines saying, “I was under the impression these were the regulations anyways. For me it was more of a reminder: ‘By the way, you still can’t do anything (music-wise). We aren’t currently having any indoor dining, even with it being technically allowed for several weeks now. It seems the one thing experts tell you to avoid doing is being near a bunch of strangers in a building for more than an hour.’”
Jarrett Hartstone, promoter at Hartstone Productions, feels that safety is paramount and guidelines should not limit live music performances.
Having closely followed this entire pandemic since the beginning, I fully believe in the need for reopening guidelines in order to keep people safe and control the spread of COVID-19. That said, I think that this latest order by the State and SLA saying that establishments can’t advertise live music and that it has to be “incidental” takes it step too far.
As long as an establishment is operating within the safety guidelines (ie; maintaining social distancing, requiring face coverings, frequently disinfecting, even making people remain seated at tables if need be), there is no reason why they can’t safely host live music and advertise it to help generate business to their already reduced-capacity establishment.
While safety measures are indeed critical to controlling the spread of the virus, so is the need to give businesses (in this case musicians, music venues, bars and restaurants) a fighting chance to survive.
If an establishment isn’t operating within the safety guidelines, by all means, issue a violation. But the focus should be on whether or not they are operating safely, which has nothing to do with advertising and hosting a particular band.
Jarrett Hartstone, Hartstone Productions
Corey Rossoff, owner of the Monopole in Plattsburgh, feels awful for musicians and bands who rely on live performances for income. He divulged on this saying, “I feel bad for all the musicians. We have cancelled all of our live music due to social distancing being impossible with a band playing. Everyone wants to be near the stage. We cancelled open mic because of all different people having to share instruments. We don’t even have the upstairs where bands play even open. With no end in immediate site I just have told bands there is no sense booking anything at this point. We have the downstairs open at reduced capacity at this time. This was even before this information was emailed to us from the SLA a couple of days ago. We don’t charge covers when we do have live music but under this ruling we could not even have any live music. So as I said I don’t know what avenue all the musicians have to make an income so I feel awful for all the many bands everywhere.”
If you are part of an independent music scene in New York State and would like to comment on this story, email nora@nysmusic.com.
