Two beloved Los Angeles venues are asking visitors to help support their staff as COVID-19 keeps venues around the world closed for the foreseeable future.
Los Angeles is one of the music industry’s biggest hubs. Over the last century, thousands of dreams have flocked to the city of angels in hopes of making it big with their songs. Far less saw their dreams realized, but nevertheless, the allure of Los Angeles and the opportunities it offers continue to draw in musicians from all over the world.
It’s hard to imagine anyone familiar with the Los Angeles music scene is unaware of The Teragram Ballroom and Moroccan Lounge. Those two venues are institutions in the entertainment industry, serving as launching pads for some of the biggest stars of all-time, but the current COVID-19 pandemic has kept their doors locked for over a month. When will they open? Nobody knows.
With that in mind, The Teragram Ballroom and Moroccan Lounge are calling on music fans everywhere to help them support their devoted staff until live performances resume. The venues recently launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking $30,000 in contributions, and so far, more than $7,000 has been donated.
A message posted to the campaign page reads:
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our industry, Moroccan Lounge and Teragram Ballroom have made the difficult, but necessary, decision to close our doors indefinitely. While we continue to monitor this situation, the reality is that our hourly employees are out of work and facing an uncertain economic future.
We ask that if you are able, please consider donating to support your favorite independently-owned, LA music venues through our GoFundMe. 100% of the funds donated toward our goal will go to supplementing the income of our night-time hourly staff until we can open our doors again to you.
It’s absolutely imperative to us that the same people who have given their time to lifting up our artists, patrons, and the Los Angeles community are also taken care of in their time of need.
Stay healthy, be kind to one another, and we will get through this together.
To encourage contributions, the venues recently added an exclusive shirt to their campaign efforts. Details on how to receive the limited edition merchandise can be found on the Teragram Ballroom’s Facebook page.
It’s impossible to state the importance of supporting independent music venues like The Teragram Ballroom and Moroccan Lounge. In an increasingly corporate entertainment landscape, independent venues are often the best way for artists from any genre to get their start in the live music industry. If you have anything to spare, even $1, please consider donating to this campaign.
Please send other venue Kickstarter campaigns and fundraising goals to james@haulix.com for inclusion on our blog.
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