The stage at Bass Performance Hall has been quiet for months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rescheduling of Broadway blockbuster “Hamilton,” the cancelation of “The Nutcracker,” and a slew of other programming postponed or given the boot, very little income has come through for the theater.
“No ticket sales, no ancillary revenue, no rentals — absolutely every revenue, other than endowment funds, has completely dried up,” says Dione Kennedy, president and CEO of Performing Arts Fort Worth, the nonprofit that owns and operates Bass Performance Hall, McDavid Studio, and the Van Cliburn Recital Hall. “That’s a pretty dramatic impact for us.”
But a relief bill co-sponsored by Texas Sen. John Cornyn may offer some hope. The $10 billion Save Our Stages Act promises Small Business Administration (SBA) grants for independent live music venue operators affected by COVID-19. The act would direct the SBA to make grants to eligible venues equal to the lesser of either 45% of operation costs from calendar year 2019 or $12 million, providing six months of financial support.
The U.S. Senate has yet to pass the bill, but Kennedy remains hopeful for the survival of the city’s music venues.
“Our arts and entertainment are what make our communities fun and vibrant places to live. Any loss of that hurts,” Kennedy says. “Anything from the tiny little bar that plays a single musician on stage to a venue like Bass Hall and all of those in between add something to the community that could be lost during a crisis like this.”
