There is no need to remind you of the COVID-19 pandemic. It affected every community in our country, geographic and social alike. Still, in Fort Collins the stakes seemed to feel higher. With so much of the local identity wrapped up in live music, and so many professional musicians calling this place home, could we ever recover? Of course, it didn’t take long for us to find ways to adapt and persevere. From live-streamed concerts to drive-in theater shows and small, private backyard gatherings, Fort Collins showed how magical a place it truly can be and kept it’s music alive.
After over a year of surviving on less frequent shows in substantially different circumstances, things are coming back to normal. Perhaps even better than before. Marquees and schedules are rapidly filling up and national acts have their tours scheduled to pass through our little music mecca once again. While there may still be cause for caution, there is also reason to celebrate. Live music, in all of its crowded room and sticky floored glory, is back. For the professional musicians and music industry workers in our area, that means their careers are back.
Lance Ruby, one of those professional musicians I mentioned, is ready. You may have become acquainted with Ruby’s musical stylings with one of several big local acts he performs with. Musketeer Gripweed, Graham Good and the Painters, Bevin Luna, Bo Depena and Crescent City Connection, to name a few. These and his other projects, along with teaching lessons, keep Ruby pretty busy in a typical scenario. He was also lucky enough to have some good fortune present itself through the more sparsely available quarantine shows; playing a few socially distanced outdoor shows around town, streaming at Washington’s, and even playing at Red Rocks. All great opportunities but without the crowds as they might traditionally appear; dancing, singing and cheering, it wasn’t quite the same.
“It’s like a tug of war type of relationship,” Ruby reflects on the musician and crowd dynamic, “if they’re really excited we go with them and that thing didn’t happen as much with the pandemic.” The ability to have crowds gathered closely and that electric exchange of energy it can create is what he missed most during quarantine and cautious, socially distanced shows.
While the gigs were down in an overall sense Ruby managed to stay busy by taking on more guitar students, many digitally. He also took some of the down time to spend more focused on honing his craft, practicing and recording both as a hired gun and band member alike.
“My playing is probably the best it’s ever been,” Ruby says, excited to share his work with audiences again.
Another of our local pros is Mike Shamrock. He’s something of a tribute band wiz these days and you’ll find him performing in bands like Guerilla Radio, Sabotage and others that pay homage to many of the bands that inspired him as a young player and, like many of us, provided the soundtrack to his youth. He also performs original music and teaches guitar. For Shamrock the gigging schedule didn’t really seem to slow down once we got past that initial few months of quarantine. Taking advantage of opportunities at bars that had been able to re-open and wanted live music even if it was for significantly smaller crowds. Tickets were more expensive and the pay a bit less reliable but they were able to continue working.
“It’s good to see peoples faces,” Shamrock says of playing to the now freshly mask-less and re-energized crowds, “they’re coming out in droves and it’s awesome.”
One group that may have had it worse off are the industry workers who staff our venues. Bars are one thing, and were allowed to open again fairly early on. What took much longer was to open the doors of concert venues who, without any shows or crowds, had no means of income for nearly an entire year. For them opening up means even more than just a return to their careers, it means they’ve survived impossible odds.
“We were the last to be able to re-open,” Bri Long, Assistant Talent Buyer at the Aggie says, looking back on the last year, “we just got to open, to not even full capacity, a few weeks ago.”
Not all of them managed and like many other businesses were forced to close their doors permanently. The crew at The Aggie Theater is one that made it through and now, they’re ready to provide a music experience that is better than ever. Dalton Latham, General Manager at The Aggie says they’ve been opportunistically working to improve the venue over their closure.
“People coming in are getting an experience they’ve had before, but it’s highly elevated from what they’re used to.” Latham says of the work.
Something everyone seems to have noticed is that people are simply glad to be back. People are wandering into shows simply because they were excited to hear music from the sidewalk. All of the people who work so hard to create these experiences are every bit as excited and grateful to have their livelihoods back. Grateful to have the music back.