Since the pandemic hit so early in the year last year, it's made it feel like it's been even longer since we've heard a ruckus coming from the Bangor waterfront. With just about every sizable live event being canceled for the last 12 months, it's just felt like there's no end in sight for getting back to "normal".

And this summer isn't looking any better, at least according to what Alex Gray of Waterfront Concerts recently said to Fox ABC Maine. From his perspective, the restrictions that are in place will only allow about +/-25% of venue capacity. With those kinds of numbers, it just doesn't make fiscal sense to open the doors.

100% of socially distanced is not 100% of our capacity....  The gate is really the dictating function of what they [the artists] make for money. That would have them taking a massive pay cut.

Meaning, the kind of artists that would normally make stop in Bangor would have to charge substantially less to out on a show. When you take a big name artist, often their guarantee at a venue this size would be into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Asking Ozzy, or Jason Aldean to take a half million cut in pay isn't likely to happen.

However, the venue may pivot a bit and move onto some outdoor events. With indoor restrictions still in place for many, outdoor gatherings seem to be where it'll be at again this summer. Arts organizations of all kinds are looking at moving everything outside. So maybe that could mean a smaller rock show of some kind, right?

No matter what, the hospitality and tourism industry may finally be able to snap back a bit this year. Provided numbers stay low. With the new variants going around, it'll be hard to tell. But with vaccination numbers growing all the time, things seem a bit more hopeful for 2021. A bit.... Juuuuust a bit.

Hopefully, we can look toward 2022 to make a full comeback. Certainly one could argue, that concerts are a privilege and not a necessity, but I bet there's plenty of folks out there who haven't felt right since the last time a kick drum thumped through their body on the Waterfront. And I tell you... I feel that pain with you.

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