After some venues re-opened their doors, new coronavirus guidelines have forced the doors of New York’s bars and restaurants offering live music to close.

All bars and restaurants in New York state offering any live music separately ticketed must close, after new guidelines come into effect. This is a huge blow to musicians’ living wage. Only unadvertised and unticketed “incidental music” is allowed, defined as:

Incidental music is non-ticketed, unadvertised performances that accompany and are incidental to a dining experience; i.e., patrons have come to dine, and the music provided is incidental to the dining experience.

SLA (New York State Liquor Authority)

This sudden change caught clubs and promoters off guard, as they are now cancelling shows booked for local and national musicians. “This is devastating. This effectively shuts me down again,” says Julie Leone, from The 443 Social Club & Lounge in Syracuse that re-opened its doors in the past few weeks.