Live after lockdown: How Cheshire’s musicians are fighting back against conflicting local guidance

The past few weeks have seen England welcoming in the ease of lockdown restrictions. For the first time this calendar year, we’ve seen some semblance of a return to normal life, with the reopening of non-essential retail, gyms, hairdressers and even restaurants and bars, albeit outdoor only.

One thing still seemingly off the table however is live music. Megan Lee is a local singer who has, for numerous years, built up a solid reputation performing on the bar and restaurant circuit in the north west county of Cheshire. After more than a year without being able to perform live, last week Lee was offered to return to play in-person at a local restaurant.

“The gig was within an open space marquee, I was at a distance on the stage further away from people, everyone was just dining, and it was really well and safely run.”

But Lee did not advertise her performance on social media, nor did the restaurant hosting her promote it. Lee states that this silence owes to the fact that unclear advice at a national level has meant that local Cheshire authorities are still advising against live performance, despite being within the open setting of outdoor pubs and restaurants.

According to government guidance on step two, a live event can take place under current restrictions if: a) the event takes place outdoors, b) Attendees are expected to arrive and leave the event in a staggered manner throughout the day, and c) It does not involve attendees converging on and congregating in a site for a specific discrete performance or activity, such as a theatre or music performance.

The guidance is somewhat confusing. Whilst Lee’s performance was outdoors, and involved attendees arriving and leaving in a staggered manner (as is this case in any hospitality environment), the event falling under live music likely infers that the performance was in breach of current COVID restrictions.

Lee admits a frustration surrounding a seeming disregard for performers as life starts to return to normal: “It feels like, as artists, we’re being punished for the longest. Other people have been able to get back to work, people are having their hair done. All these things are within a much closer proximity to people than us singers need to be. “

For Lee, after over a year of being unable to work, she felt that the mitigated risks of performing in environments like these are necessary are necessary at this point for her financially: “At the end of the day, the venue has booked me. It’s a venue that I’ve gigged at for years. I’ve been one of their resident singers for a very long time. The restaurant is very well run; everyone working has masks on; I’m far away on a stage – much more than 2 metres away from guests. I just don’t see how I could cause any trouble?”

Furthermore, Lee affirms that the local rules are inconsistent county-to-county: “Why should I be allowed to go and gig in Manchester for example, but I’m not allowed to gig at one of my own local restaurants? They’re saying, ‘don’t travel’- but if I have to go to Manchester because my own local council won’t let me perform… It’s not great really.”

Lee also points to other local musicians taking the risk of returning to these local venues to gig (“we’re all rebels!”) despite the conflicting guidance. She shares that “at the end of the day you’ve just got to box clever. Not take the mick. As performers, we certainly don’t want to put ourselves at risk just as much as we don’t want to put others at risk.”

“It feels like as artists, we’re being punished for the longest”

“When things are contained: there’s only going to be a certain amount of people in the restaurant because there’s only so many tables and seats; there’s always going to be less than six at a table because that’s the restrictions that professionally and well-run restaurants adhere to. You only do what you know is going to be safe.”

Much like live performers, the hospitality industry was also amongst the hardest hit sectors by the pandemic with restrictions on trading impacting business turnover at historic levels. For Lee and other freelance artists, these economic impacts have severely affected their bookings with these venues.

“I know that venues really want to get live entertainment in – but because they’ve been hit so hard by the financial impact of lockdown over the last year – it comes down to actually being able to afford that added bonus of live music. If they know it’s going to cost them a good couple of hundred pounds extra that is coming out of their profits, really that money is more essential to them at the moment.”

Additionally, Lee notes that live music is ultimately an added attraction for bars and restaurants to entice customers in, but the ambiguity surrounding local rules means that these venues cannot even promote these acts at risk of being in breach of current restrictions.

Despite the conflicting rules and regulations, Lee did ultimately take the risk and decision to perform. Moreover, becoming amongst the first live acts to return as we emerge from lockdown. She shares how “it was just so nice, seeing people out and about, having a lovely time, enjoying themselves. I think live entertainment always adds a certain sort of atmosphere to an environment in any situation.”

Lee admits “It actually made me quite emotional. I hadn’t seen people enjoying themselves for such a long time. It was just so nice to be back and doing what I love more than anything else, which is trying to make other people happy and have a good night. It was amazing”.

Restrictions regarding live performance become much clearer with step three of the roadmap on 17th May, when live events (both indoor and outdoor) will be allowed with socially-distanced audiences. Regardless, the current guidance remains unclear, and is ultimately just another roadblock that artists are having to navigate in the return to normalcy.

As of time of publication, Cheshire East Council have not yet responded to my request to clarify local guidance on live music in outdoor hospitality settings.

You can follow Megan Lee on Facebook for information on upcoming gigs and events here.

Photos of Megan Lee used with permission by the artist. © Megan Lee