It’s October 12, 2019. You hit the hair salon in the morning, picked a new ’fit on State Street. Dined at Los Agaves, tipping big for the tasty mole. Called up the babysitter, who you’ll pay a little extra for overtime. And at last, you arrive at the Santa Barbara Bowl for a Bob Dylan concert. Now multiply that one ticket holder’s spending by 4,500 — the seating capacity at the Bowl — and the ripple effect loss in revenue reverberates through the community.
Clearly, more than just ticket sales took a hit the day COVID-19 killed live music, as concerts are interwoven into the culture and economy in Santa Barbara County, which has the highest relative number of arts and culture nonprofits per capita in California. Nonetheless, when disaster strikes, the music industry is often one of the most affected.
“A lot of [music venues] weathered during the recession in ’08, then again with the Thomas Fire and debris flows during the 2017-2018 holiday season. A lot of small businesses are still getting back on their feet from those closures,” said Sarah York Rubin, executive director of Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture.
