Photo courtesy of senior Stella McSween.

Once COVID-19 hit in 2020, many musical artists began to postpone or cancel their live shows. However, as vaccines are continuing to be administered, more and more social events are being held. Concerts, which were postponed at the beginning of quarantine, have already been held or rescheduled for later this year. The possibility of live music got San Luis Obispo High School students excited to see some of their favourite artists live again.

  Other concerts were cancelled recently due to the Delta variant. Just a couple worth mentioning are the BTS world tour and the remainder of the Nine Inch Nails concerts for this year were cancelled without rescheduled dates. 

  The Delta variant hasn’t caused the cancellation of some events. “I have a ticket to see Julien Baker in Oakland in November, and I definitely have my concerns surrounding the Delta variant but it all comes down to what numbers are looking like in November,” said senior Sofia Shaw.

  Live music has even made a comeback in SLO with the return of concerts in Mission Plaza, held every Friday evening from 5 to 8 pm. Due to the concert being held outdoors, masks are optional for all guests. 

  At the end of July, Lollapalooza was dubbed the one of the largest social gatherings since the lockdown started. With a miraculous 100,000 people attending Lollapalooza, over 200 people tested positive for COVID-19 after the event.  Of course precautions were in place and everyone who came had to be vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test with them. Only unvaccinated guests were required to wear masks, but can we really expect everyone to follow these guidelines?

With COVID-19 cases rising throughout the world again, is live music really a priority over people’s health and wellbeing? 

Sources: buzzfeednews.com   npr.org   downtownslo.com