Zeitgeist: Can live music become more inclusive after Covid?

With venues slowly beginning to reopen, the opportunity is there for a reimagining of the live music experience which ensures safer spaces for all – but will it be taken?

The pandemic has given us an opportunity to imagine a world in which artists, techs, roadies, managers, bookers and punters have access to a space that is safe and welcoming regardless of their age, gender, race, ability, sexuality, or any other factor. Picture: Getty

It’s August 2021, and the majority of us haven’t seen the inside of a venue in a year and a half. We’re looking back at the days of casually catching gigs, sometimes multiple times per week; dancing to DJs in gloriously sweaty clubs; queuing at the bar during a lull in the set before elbowing our way back to a meticulously chosen spot with our pals.

Those of us who cherish live music miss it ...