Live music is dying in New Orleans. You can thank Covid-19 for that. None of the city’s live music venues or bars can open. None of the festivals can operate. Just like you, we’re waiting to see what happens to the 2021 Jazz & Heritage Festival and the French Quarter Festival.

Will the virus have been conquered by next spring? We hope so, but here’s the deal: those huge festivals start planning their talent right about now. They don’t know what’s going to happen; they know as much as we do.

Tours of bands have been put on the back burner until 2021. The Jazz Fest, whose major producer is AEG, books a lot of touring bands on its bill. Will those tours be operating in the spring? By the way: it’s not just a band that promoters have to worry about; it’s also sound engineers, lighting techs, equipment techs. Organizing a tour involves an enormous amount of people that have to be accommodated for any show.

Will there be big-money sponsors who can participate to support the festivals?

It’s all up in the air.

The small venues, clubs, bars and theaters are in limbo (or should we say monetary purgatory?). How long can they survive?

In the meantime, the New Orleans Saints announced that they would allow actual spectators at their first home game on September 27. The team won’t limit the number of seats in the Superdome, but have created a “pod system” that will allow fans to follow social distancing while allowing season ticket holders to attend home games, according to a report by WDSU.

Each pod is based off a season ticketholder’s account and is feigned by the number of seats that can “safely” be grouped together. Pods will work in rotations and season ticket holders will be granted access in randomized rotation.

So the Saints can have their fans in the Dome—please tell me that carousing, drunk, screaming Saints fans (even if there are “podded”) are going to not be in a position to be exposed to the virus.

I don’t buy it.

You and I both know that this is not going to be a safe environment for the fans, and for the players themselves. But unless the City prevents it, the Saints plan will prevail.

How is this different from allowing fans into the Dome to hear live music?

To me, it’s just as dangerous as allowing fans into a music club to hear a band. Yes, the Dome is big, but it also holds a lot more people, too.

The reason why is because the Saints and the NFL have a helluva lot more financial clout than live music promoters and clubs; that’s just a fact.

Why does sports—that can be experienced in any city that has a NFL franchise (which are virtually owned by billionaires)—trump music?

It’s money, pure and simple.

I’m still waiting for the City to come up with a safe and sound plan to reopen the city for live music, as well as a strategy for implementation. So far, there’s been no real plan to do that. I’m also waiting for Congress to approve a plan that will “Save Our Stages,” and help to keep live music performances alive until a vaccine is developed.

Perhaps if the local music presenters had the same financial clout as the Saints, things might be different.

This is why we need a music advocate position as an integral part of city government. At least then music might get a fair shake.