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Why the Troubadour and Other Music Venues Risk Shuttering for Good

The historic Troubadour club in Los Angeles, a Mecca of live music for the last 60 years, faces an uncertain future in the wake of Covid-19. With live events not slated to resume for months or even as late as next year, places like the Troubadour have turned to Go Fund Me pages to help support staff and pay expenses. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Troubadour and other independently owned venues might not weather the storm unless the forecast significantly changes or someone with deep pockets steps in.

“Starting in the late ‘60s, the Troubadour helped guide artists including Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Tom Waits, the Eagles and Warren Zevon into the mainstream. Most famously, it was on the Troubadour’s stage in 1970 that a 20-year-old Elton John, across a series of shows, became a household name. That moment was captured in the recent John biopic, Rocketman.

“My whole life came alive that night, musically, emotionally… everything,” Elton John told The Times a few decades after those auspicious performances. “It was like everything I had been waiting for suddenly happened…. I could tell it was a magical night from the moment I stepped onstage.”

You can read more here.


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