COVID precautions and safety at live shows are the focus for today; particularly at First Avenue and in all the related venues like the Entry and Turf Club and Fine Line and the Fitz and the Palace Theatre. First Avenue currently has a policy that requires concertgoers to show proof of full vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the event.

I'm joined today by Ashley Ryan, First Avenue's marketing director.

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Every Wednesday morning at 8:30 CST, Jill Riley connects with experts and local personalities for some real talk about keeping our minds and bodies healthy — from staying safe in the music scene, to exercising during a pandemic, to voting and civic engagement. Looking for more resources and support? Visit our friends at Call to Mind, MPR's initiative to foster new conversations about mental health. Subscribe to Wellness Wednesday as a podcast on Spotify, Apple, RSS, Radio Public, Stitcher, or Amazon Music.

Jill Riley: Before we really jump into that policy and how it's going...First Avenue was dark for almost 17 months. How did it feel to finally reopen the doors this summer?

Ashley Ryan: Wow. It mean, it was an absolutely incredible feeling. It was tough. You know, we some of our staff was in the room occasionally or in our various venues, just to make sure the lights still turned on. But it was a whole other feeling to be able to open the doors to a show and fans. I cried. I think most people on our staff who were able to attend the reopening of every venue did. I mean, we just couldn't get enough of getting to open the doors again.

Okay, so doors are open at First Avenue and other venues. So at what point did you realize that you needed to put more COVID precautions in place?

Well, we reopened on July 1, and we were operating for about a month before we added some of these additional updated policies. We kind of thought about it as just being flexible with the situation. As we've had updates on, you know, capacity restrictions or mask mandates, we've adjusted and made sure that we were following all of those best practices in real time. This felt like an extension of that, as we saw case numbers going up around the country. Thankfully, they've stayed pretty low, relatively, in Minnesota, but we're seeing numbers on the rise. We just thought we needed to do our part and help lead with some best practices and protocols like this. For us, just keeping an eye on the facts, on what the best recommendations are, has really been the way we wanted to move forward this entire time.

It would seem keeping staff and the artists and the patrons safe has been really just been something that First Avenue has taken very seriously. What are you seeing across the live music industry in regards to COVID and some of the policies in place? When I look at some music festivals or other venues across the country, the proof of full vaccination or the negative COVID test within 72 hours, it seems like that's becoming kind of a standard...not everywhere, but for places that are adding on the extra precaution.

Yeah, you're you're absolutely right. And of course, we understand, every business is going to run a little bit differently. We're not trying to say that our policies are best policy for everyone, but it was the best policy for us. And we're seeing this policy or very similar policies being adopted across the country — from venues, from touring artists, we're seeing it a lot of festivals are announcing similar policies.

Really, at this point, it's sort of a combination of being very artist-driven, we're actually starting to hear from artists that they want even more accommodation, or policies put into place. So I would encourage people to just double-check the show information a couple days out if you have tickets to something. A few artists have asked for vaccine-only policies at their shows, and a few artists have asked for vaccines or tests within 48 hours rather than 72. Artists' teams are really starting to get involved at this level, and they're making these requests. So we're seeing it really be adopted across the board.

How has it been going [with respect to] the logistics of enforcing this policy?

It's actually been really, thankfully, very smooth. It's not too much additional work for our staff: we check your ID at the door, we check your ticket at the door. This is just you know one other piece of information that we're checking through. It kind of just fits right into the normal flow of coming in to a show, and I think most folks are just Like all of us, we're just excited to be getting to do things that feel a little bit more normal again: experiencing music and especially experiencing music in a room, right with other people, with your friends, with other fans. That is such a special magical moment, I think people are kind of willing to take any precaution they need to to safely get in the door.

Okay, let's say I have tickets to an upcoming show and I've lost my vaccine card — or, you know, I run into something where, oh, you know what, I'm not vaccinated. I am vaccinated, by the way, but let's say I wasn't, and I didn't get a test in time. Or I run into something where the artist wants some stricter policies in place. Is there a refund policy?

We are trying to be as proactive as possible. We're sending emails out to anyone who's purchased tickets to a show three to five days in advance to let them know what the exact policy is for that show. So we're hoping that there aren't surprises. They'll receive an email from us, from the venue, letting them know what you need to be prepared.

In that e-mail, we do include a link to a resource where if you've lost your vaccination card, you can actually request one, which is a great service that the Health Department is providing. So there are some ways to get your card if you've lost it or get that information. We've had a lot of logistical questions: people asking, can I bring a photo of my card? Yes, that's fine. Can I bring an email that says I've tested positive or negative? Yes, that's fine. So all of those things should help get people in the door. But if for some reason you show up and you're not able to get in, yes, we would just recommend that you contact AXS, who is our ticketing provider, and go through those channels to request a refund.

Is there a vaccine policy for the staff?

There is a vaccine policy for our staff, yes, we actually had that policy in place prior to this sort of shift. So our staff across our various rooms are vaccinated. And we're working with vendors to make sure that folks who are in our building are vaccinated. This is another thing where we're hearing that a lot from artists or artists' teams: we just want to make sure your staff are vaccinated. Some of them are requesting mask-wearing our staff right now at this moment are wearing masks, no matter what position they're in. So from the moment you walk in the door, someone's checking your ID or scanning your ticket, to your bartender or the stage crew who worked behind the scenes backstage: all of those people are vaccinated and masked.

After the club being closed for almost 17 months, Ashley, I imagine that you guys just want to keep it open.

That's exactly right. We want you to come in. We are definitely over-communicating to let people know the best ways to come prepared, and we want to stay open. It was a devastating time for us and musicians, and we just want to be back in the swing of things and keep the doors open.

Do you feel like the COVID safety procedures that you've put in place? Do you think that that's having any sort of effect nationwide? Is anybody looking to you, or has it been just a big communication process with venues across the country?

I do think it helps to have someone say out loud, "This is what we're going to do." I think it helps other venues to have a model. Not that they weren't thinking about it or talking about it, but it's sort of like almost safety in numbers. If it makes it easier for another venue or an artist's team to put this in place, that is amazing. We'll talk with each other locally and nationally, the past year and a half especially. We've seen the organization of NIVA, which is what's behind Save Our Stages. That was a lot of independent venues from all over the country coming together and sort of collectively saying, how do we survive this?

NIVA itself as an organization doesn't have a policy, because they do understand different venues in different cities or towns have different realities. But because of that, there's such a strong network of communication from venues around the country that we all kind of keep an eye on with what each other are doing. Locally, I'm really happy to say that I've seen a lot of other venues in the Twin Cities adopt similar policies, and I think it's just going to make for a safer and more enjoyable concertgoing experience for everyone.

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Fallback link: First Avenue owner Dayna Frank - Interview with Andrea Swensson
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What's the one [show] that you're looking forward to?

Well, I'm very excited for more than one but I'm sure [excited for] Phoebe Bridgers over at Surly Brewing Festival Field. I'm really looking forward to that, and really looking forward to St. Vincent coming up. I think those are both going to be incredible shows.

Wellness Wednesday is hosted by Jill Riley, and produced by Christy Taylor and Jay Gabler. Our theme music is a portion of the song "F.B. One Number 2" by Christian Bjoerklund under the Non Commercial Share Alike 3.0 International License.