The Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff, which is among Dallas’ finest live music venues, has been closed since March 13, when Junior Brown performed its last show. Owner Edwin Cabaniss does not foresee staging any more shows until after Labor Day, at the earliest.
But while the 400-seat Kessler and thousands like it all over the 50 states are dark and will remain so until the gloom of the coronavirus passes, a whole lot is going on behind the scenes, with Cabaniss in the middle of most of it.
For one, there are two pieces of federal legislation that seek to provide much-needed relief for music venues from Bangor to Barstow.
The Save Our Stages Act — whose fate could be decided by Aug. 5 — is a rarity for a bitterly divided America. It is bipartisan, co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a Democrat.
Cabaniss is optimistic it will pass. If so, it would provide six months of financial support to help, in the words of the bill, “keep venues afloat, pay employees and preserve a critical economic sector for communities across America.”
Independent music and entertainment venues have been among the hardest-hit businesses during COVID-19. And Cabaniss has been lobbying congressional leaders for legislation that would help them. He cites a recent survey, co-commissioned by the Austin Chamber of Commerce, that offers this prediction: Up to 90% of the capital city’s music venues will close, killed by fallout from the coronavirus. The National Independent Venue Association, or NIVA, predicts an even worse scenario, that Austin is not alone: Up to 90% of venues throughout the country will soon die. Unless, that is, they can score immediate financial help.
The other piece of legislation, the Restart Act, which is backed by such corporate giants as Amazon, Spotify and YouTube, will offer flexible loans to small business owners with lenient loan forgiveness options as a result of declining income.
The Restart Act began in the House and migrated to the Senate, where co-sponsor Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., predicts passage sometime in August. Cabaniss said the Restart Act has the stamp of Texas all over it. Co-sponsors include Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, a Democrat, Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth, a Republican, and Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat whose district includes the Kessler.
The Restart Act is broader and not specific to the music business, Cabaniss said, and yet, he’s backing that one as well. Paired with the Save Our Stages Act, “it gives us two bites at the apple.”
In addition to owning the Kessler, Cabaniss is the founder and owner of Kessler Presents, which manages music venues in Houston and Austin and produces shows in East and West Texas. He’s also the co-founder and chairman of the Music Venue Alliance-Texas, which he says represents “small- to mid-size venues across the state.”
The past four months have, he said, unfolded as a bitter survival test. What has happened, even to the Kessler, “is going from full-on to full shutdown. We have seen a 95% drop in revenue since March 14, and we’re only five months in. You can cut your expenses all you want, but when you have no revenue, it makes it extraordinarily difficult.”
The Kessler, he said, is “the one out of 10” that should be able to make it even in a world “where the whole industry is in intensive care. While we are in intensive care, we’re one of the healthiest venues in there. Our industry is on the verge of collapse, and that’s why we need Save Our Stages.”
In mid-March, “Like a lot of folks,” Cabaniss said, “we weren’t really sure what we were dealing with. So, initially, we rolled our March and April shows into July and August, thinking that three months, four months, whatever it took, we would figure this thing out.”
It didn’t take long to realize that mass gatherings would not be happening anytime soon. On May 18, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Phase II of Texas’ back-to-business plan, which technically allowed reopening at 25% capacity, with strict guidelines for social distancing. On June 2, with the advent of Stage III, it went up to 50%.
“When we really laid it out, we figured we would be somewhere around 30% to 35% capacity. It’s better than zero,” Cabaniss said.
Still, he was preparing to reopen by the end of June, but then cases of the coronavirus spiked dramatically in Texas, Florida and Arizona. He moved the restart back to the end of July, “and then it got really bad.”
Cabaniss applauds both Klobuchar and Cornyn, whom he credits with being “a friend to the live music business in Texas going back a number of years.” And because the bill is bipartisan, he likes its chances.
“Our businesses have been forced to close by the government for the greater good of the public,” Cabaniss said. “We understand it, we want to do the right thing, but there needs to be some sort of just compensation.”
Klobuchar and Cornyn are seeking $10 billion in financial relief through the Save Our Stages Act, which Cabaniss calls “the difference between making it or not making it for 800-plus live music venues across the state of Texas.”
If it does pass, he says, “Yes, there will be enough.” Venues would receive 45% of their 2019 operating expenses, but, Cabaniss noted, “it’s got to be used for very specific things — payroll, rent, taxes, insurance.”
What Save Our Stages is not, he said, is “a handout. This is not a bailout. We have been forced to close by the government for the greater good of the public. We are the last people that would be looking for the government to help us. We’re independent. We’re proud Texans. We want to do music, and we want to do it in a safe manner. But right now, that’s just not possible.”
