If you squint just right, or maybe turn your ear to the wind at just the right angle, you might be able to see the light or hear the music at the end of the tunnel in regard to live music and events and tours like we were used to pre-COVID-19.
If the chatter I am finally beginning to hear is true, people are starting to seriously talk about and book live music at the bigger venues and festivals. It won't be any time soon - most likely this fall - but at least they are talking.
Nick Wilkinson, president of the Tivoli Foundation here, says he is beginning to hear the same thing and that his staff is having serious conversations with artists about shows for this fall.
"I think that is the time frame most people feel comfortable with," he says. "We are hopeful for sooner but it does seem like we are putting more offers in, some for 2022 even."
Wilkinson is optimistic that our city's location and size could work in our favor as we come out of this pandemic. Because artists, and just as importantly their crews and staff, have been out of work for more than a year, he is hopeful that instead of doing 40 or 50 shows on a tour, they might do 70 or 80, which could bring a city our size into play. And with Chattanooga so close to Nashville and Atlanta, he adds, some of the bigger acts that wouldn't normally come here might also want to do early test shows here to work out the kinks, so to speak.
Wilkinson is anticipating and hoping that the demand from artists looking to get back out and tour is big enough that we might see shows at the Tivoli and Memorial Auditorium or Walker Theatre on the same nights. That has happened here in the past only occasionally.
A lot could happen between now and then, but artists and promoters are starting to seriously look at getting back out on the road in September and October, according to venue managers here and in other cities. As we already knew, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, which annually brings 80,000 people to Manchester just up the road, is scheduled this year for Labor Day weekend instead of its typical dates in early June. Summerfest, which takes place over three weekends in Wisconsin - and is the country's largest music festival with 900,000 fans - has also announced it will be postponed to September.
But the bigger news might be that venues around the country are also booking shows, and in some of the larger cities, they are booking several acts for the same nights as a way to hedge their bets about what might happen. Some of these "holds" are four and five deep for certain dates. Even though they're written in pencil, as these are not firm dates yet, what this means is that artists, venue managers and promoters are feeling good enough about the fall that they are planning tours.
How will all of this will work out? Nobody knows. Routing is always a tricky thing, so what happens, for example, if an act is No. 1 on the hold list in New Orleans and Milwaukee and gets both dates? Or, gets the dates on consecutive days? Still, it's a good problem to have at this point.
The unknowns, of course, don't end there. There has been some discussion that concert-goers might all have to have some sort of confirmation form showing they've been vaccinated. From where I sit, though, that seems impractical and far-fetched from both a logistical and a legal standpoint.