As the United States braces for a third spike of COVID-19 infections and government aid sits perilously out of reach, venues across the country are forced to fend for themselves. One such establishment is Baltimore’s The 8×10, who last week set up a GoFundMe to save the beloved business.
Created on October 26th, the campaign is seeking $100,000 in order to keep the lights on in the hopes of the eventual return of live music. As of publication time, the fundraiser had already collected nearly $73,000 from over 1,100 generous donors.
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Established in 1983, The 8×10 has brought an exciting variety of live music to Baltimore’s Federal Hill neighborhood for nearly 40 years. Brian Shupe and his wife Abigail Janssens have owned and operated the venue since 2005 and seen the growth of the latest budding generation of musicians.
“The 8×10 is legendary for its intimacy, its pristine sound, and most of all, its rabid and fiercely loyal fanbase,” Shupe wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We get told all the time by bands that we are their favorite venue east of the Mississippi. We have poured our souls into the venue to live up to those standards and provide a fertile ground for bands and audiences to connect seamlessly.”
The venue was forced to close its doors on March 13th, and has been unable to reopen since and has just been cleared to operate at 25 percent capacity. With a 200-person capacity, that 25 percent equates to only 50 people. Given the intimacy of the club, Shupe acknowledged the difficulty of implementing social distancing, and also does not want his employees to risk contracting COVID for only 25 percent of their normal tips. In short, even though The 8×10 is currently allowed to host shows, it would not be a viable economic option for the bands, the staff, or the patrons in addition to the health risks.
Meanwhile, the owners are still paying their normal operating cost of roughly $15,000 a month. Luckily, The 8×10 was able to receive an $150,000 relief loan from the government that should be able to last it through the end of the year. Unfortunately, this is a loan and not a grant, and will thus need to be paid back at some point in time.
It seems like every month another beloved venue somewhere across the country is forced to close its doors. Luckily, the owners of The 8×10 are giving their patrons a chance to prevent that announcement by giving them the chance to step in and donate what they can.
This is such a horrible situation. We have put 15 years of our blood, sweat, tears, and love into The 8×10. And you have put the same effort into coming and supporting us by seeing show after show. None of us want The 8×10 to go under.
To donate and learn more about The 8×10’s GoFundMe campaign click here. Watch a video from owner Brian Shupe explaining the club’s dire situation below.
The 8×10 GoFundMe
[Video: Live From The 8×10]
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