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<\/a>Walkden acknowledges that Hermann\u2019s would not be where it is today without government subsidies to help during COVID-19, but she\u2019s cautiously optimistic about the future. The Hermann\u2019s crowd has never taken their position as listeners for granted, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a community that has said, you know, \u2018We\u2019re keeping this for us,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Hermann\u2019s thrives on a trifecta, Walkden says, of audience, club, and musicians.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you do see these musicians that have been quarantined for a little while come back on the stage, they are rusty, and they do get more frustration, but frustration is in an active conflict that produces music,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Local folk\/roots musician Oliver Swain, who plays at Hermann\u2019s regularly, says music is the main ingredient that has kept him stable through the pandemic. The club\u2019s quick transition to online streaming in mid-April of last year provided a lifeline not just to the artistic community, he says, but to audience members who depend on music for mental well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just goes to show that this is an organization that has always put artists and audiences first,\u201d he says. \u201cI think the only shows I\u2019ve done [since the pandemic] have been out of Hermann\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to streaming, Swain says a lot of the production values in general have had to be very low. That\u2019s fine for the first couple weeks\u2014streaming from laptops and whatnot\u2014but if it\u2019s going to be a long-term alternative, professional video and sound production is a must, and Swain says that Hermann’s gets that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat aspect just shows that Hermann\u2019s understands what audiences need, and what artists need, and are consistently putting that first,\u201d says Swain.<\/p>\n
Walkden says that even through the pandemic, they\u2019ve never \u201cbeen able to slow this stage down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMusicians want to play,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Swain has played at Hermann\u2019s for almost 30 years, beginning with student jazz night on Tuesday nights when he was in school. Streaming, he says, doesn\u2019t allow for the privacy of a rehearsal or the intimacy of a live show. He says that the energy of playing live is irreplaceable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a major adjustment and something that we\u2019re possibly just really thankful to be able to do now, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be a big part of my career moving forward, as long as we can get those audiences back,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Walkden has conflicting thoughts on the matter. Audience complacency and comfort found in streaming is something she worries about, but she also knows audiences need the real thing just as much as the musicians.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, guys,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna dance. Keep your legs going.\u201d<\/p>\n