COVID-19 closures have abrupt impact on local musicians. Here’s what they’re doing to help each other

With Gov. Tom Wolf ordering all restaurants and bars to close dine-in facilities in attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Centre County musicians are among those to feel the effects — immediate loss of income and no opportunities for work in the near future.

“There are a lot of musicians in this town that rely on these gigs,” said local guitarist Brian Cleary. “It’s not just the gigs themselves, but the visibility these gigs give them.”

Cleary, who typically performs at least once a week with notable local bands Miss Melanie, Pure Cane Sugar and Strayer and the Dogs, has a stable, full-time position in the health care industry, so he feels fortunate his budget is minimally impacted by his scheduled performances being canceled. But he’s quick to point out that many local musicians are reliant on the income they make from their shows.

“I do it because I love it,” Cleary said. “There are musicians in this town that work every single day to craft it and make it their living, that they’re losing out on. People are struggling to pay rent and buy food.”

When musicians started losing gigs, there was an almost immediate outpouring of efforts intended to build community and to figure out ways to help musicians and local artists continue working. It was also an attempt to stay connected, since social distancing and sweeping shutdowns are conducive to feelings of isolation, particularly for people who may only interact with others when they leave their homes for work, like many local musicians.

“It’s important for mental health to stay connected,” said Webster’s Bookstore Cafe owner Elaine Meder-Wilgus. “We don’t know how long this will last at this point, but we all have to help each other. We’ll get through it together.”

Meder-Wilgus was instrumental in rallying musicians via social media and other means, compiling a list of contact information for musicians and artists that included websites, Etsy pages, Bandcamp pages and other ways to purchase music and art directly from those who created it, with more developments on the horizon.

“Linking musicians, authors, actors and others who are streaming performances can really help us stay grounded and lift our spirits,” Meder-Wilgus wrote. “(We’re) working on mutual aid, local fundraising efforts and other community-based programs, all early on in the implementation.”

Meder-Wilgus’s husband, Bill Wilgus, is a guitarist, mandolinist and music producer who plays with a variety of bands around central Pennsylvania and has found himself primarily homebound in recent weeks, both due to his day job and being considered vulnerable to COVID-19 in multiple ways. However, the isolation has resulted in an opportunity.

“Being restricted to the house has connected me with what I really love,” Wilgus wrote in an email, “playing more guitar and learning difficult concepts in audio-mixing. I’m about to reach out to local musicians in search of recording collaborations. Fun stuff. I want more experience mixing songs.”

Another iteration of the affects on local music has to do with the promotional side, which in central Pennsylvania includes The Band Junkies, the upstart community-oriented music promotion business started by Luke Cimbala last year. Cimbala spends a significant amount of his time thinking up ways to build the local music scene and partnering with venues like Zeno’s Pub and 3 Dots, but also is not able to work for his full-time employer right now. So, The Band Junkies is hustling too, and that takes the form of supporting musical performances in whatever way they are materializing.

“The livestreams are popping up everywhere,” Cimbala said. “I’m trying to support those.”

Cimbala continues to offer video and audio recording services for musicians as well, which are designed to anchor press kits and simply provide professional quality content for musicians and bands to distribute and sell. The important thing, according to Cimbala, is to stay positive.

“Just keep rockin’,” he said.