BANGOR, Maine — Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many artists were forced to cancel their tours this year. This means the usual summer concerts that everyone awaits for in Maine, might not happen this year at all.
A concert at Darling's Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor can host up to 18,000 people.
"Restaurants, and shops and hotels know that they can count on being completely booked up and full on a concert night so it creates a sense of security for businesses," said Betsy Lundy, the Downtown Bangor Coordinator.
Many greater Bangor area businesses will most likely not be able to have the spike they usually get from concerts due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Alex Gray works for the Waterfront Concerts. Gray tells NEWS CENTER Maine many of the artists have postponed their yearly tours to hopefully next year.
"We are working as rapidly as the market will allow us, and we've got some supplier delays, equipment delays things of that nature so that's added to our construction time," said Gray.
Construction companies are also limiting the number of workers on a big project like this one.
"As a whole we see additional time to do additional work prior to opening most likely in 2021," said Gray.
Three shows have not been canceled yet:
- Rod Stewart
- Kiss
- Luke Bryan
But these concerts don't seem to have a bright future for this year. "All of which we think very likely will move to 2021, more so because of the limits that are put on us for mass gatherings," said Gray.
"More than ever, small businesses in Bangor are going to have to rely on their local population, they are going to need more consistent support throughout the season until the world returns to a different kind of functioning," said Lundy.
Large group gatherings are not even on Maine's reopening phases.
"It is a little bit hard for them that there isn't even a conversation happening about what that might look like and when it might happen," said Lundy.
"Todd Gabe, one of the lead economists at the University of Maine in Orono did a study on our business, really outside of our first inaugural in 2010, we produce about 25 to 30 million dollars in indirect spending in the region per season, so yes...that money with no shows that money is out of this economy," said Gray.
"We continue to work with artists and artist management to make sure we fulfill the terms of our agreement and if for some reason all of a sudden something were to change, and we can s art having mass gatherings again, we would ready ourselves to be prepared to do so," said
Gray tells NEWS CENTER Maine that if you had tickets to a show that has been canceled, they will be refunded if you purchased them with a credit card.
If you bought tickets with cash, the Waterfront Concerts box offices will re-open when it's safe to do so for you to go and get your refund.