One year ago, Fresno music venues closed their doors. Why they hope to reopen in 2021

It was a year ago, almost to the day, that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

What followed was a kind of time loop for Fresno’s live entertainment venues.

“We’re a year into it and yet it’s almost like we’re a week into it,” says Sean McElhinney, general manager at the Save Mart Center.

Last March, the arena postponed or rescheduled most, then eventually, all of its 2020 calendar. Some of the shows were ultimately canceled.

Some remained on the books, pushed into 2021 where they remain in an extended limbo.

“We always knew that California would be one of the last states to get back to operational,” McElhinney says. The arena is currently closed, even as similar venues reopen in other states.

Over the year, the arena has announced just one new show to its calendar. Pop singer the Weeknd added the Save Mart Center to his After Hours tour. But the show isn’t until April 2022 and the announcement was mostly a marketing tie-in timed with the singer’s performance at the Super Bowl. The majority of stops on the run were rescheduled from earlier dates.

McElhinney thinks we could see some new fall tours announced in April or May. But he isn’t sure what those post-pandemic concerts will look like. There will certainly be capacity limits and new safety restrictions, though he doesn’t think venues will go so far as to require proof of vaccinations or negative COVID tests — ideas that had been floated around.

Save Mart Center will follow state and local guidelines and whatever comes down from the artists, McElhinney says.

“We are planning all sorts of contingencies. We’ve designed plans for every type of scenario we can imagine.”

Tower District venues in holding pattern

The Save Mart Center isn’t the only venue adjusting to the amorphous timeline of things.

Good Company Players, which operates in the Tower District out of Roger Rocka’s and Second Space Theatre, had a tentative season scheduled for 2021. “The Addams Family” musical was supposed to open Jan. 14 and would have closed this weekend. “Guys and Dolls” was slated to open March 18.

Both shows are postponed until local COVID guidance changes. The theater company is calling it a “brief intermission.”

Strummer’s nightclub is in a similar holding pattern. Technically, the club is still booking dates and is already deep into its 2023 calendar. Only a few concerts are being listed on its website; Jenny and the Mexicats are still scheduled to play June 18 and the Weather are booked for Sept. 16.

“At this point I’m just trying to appease the agents,” says owner Eddy Burgos, whose promotions company Numbskull Shows books concerts across the Valley and Central Coast.

“As soon as we get the green light, we’re going to fire away.”

Outdoor venues will have the upper hand to start, Burgos says.

Earlier this month the governor changed state guidelines to allows for live entertainment outdoors, with capacity limits and restrictions based on the state’s tier system. Even in the least restrictive tier, capacity would be capped at 67% and limited to in-state visitors.

Burgos expects to see outdoor shows happening in some markets by late summer. Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino has a summer concert starting June 26 with country singer Trace Adkins. It also includes Los Huracanes Del Norte (July 10), Larry The Cable Guy (Aug. 21) and the Beach Boys (Sept. 11).

Fulton 55 returns with Metalachi

Whenever a reopening finally does happen it won’t be floodgates, says Fulton 55 general manager Tony Martin.

“It’s gonna be a slow build,” he says.

It will take time for the national touring acts to get their production teams back up on the road. And while fans may be enthusiastic about the return of live music, many have been suffering fanatically and may not be able to afford normal ticket prices.

Fulton 55 plans to load the calendar with local and regional bands at first. Those bands typically have lower ticket prices and can better adjust to capacity limits.

Martin expects the first concerts back will be sold with advance reservations and table seating. He doesn’t think dancing will be a part of the equation for awhile.

Currently, Fulton 55 has one show on the books for 2021: Metalachi will come in from Los Angeles to play Dec. 10.

“The vaccine roll-out is the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel,” and the majority of the Fulton 55 staff will have been vaccinated by mid-April, Martin says.

Less venues, more demand?

He does see an opportunity for Fresno and the central Valley once venues are allowed to reopen. With the amount of venues that have shut down across the county and state, more artists will be looking for viable stages. That could mean tour stops from acts that might normally pass on the city.

McElhinney says a similar situation could play out at the Save Mart Center, especially if the state enacts capacity limits.

The arena could become an option for smaller acts that wouldn’t be able to fill the space otherwise.

Fresno might see musicians who haven’t played the Save Mart Center before.

There is, of course, always the danger that the smaller venues may be forced to close for good while waiting for things to return to normal. But both Strummer’s and Fulton 55 are looking into applying for part of the “Save our Stages,” money allocated in the $900 billion aid package passed by Congress in December, and Burgos feels like the worst has already passed.

“We’ve made it through the brunt of the storm.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM.