Austin News

When the local music scene in Austin came to a screeching halt in mid-March due to COVID-19, musician Lauryn Gould went from performing live five to seven nights per week to zero in just a matter of days. 

“Every single gig I had on the books for the foreseeable future was canceled,” Gould told Austin News. “I was also in the middle of my last semester of grad school when this hit, so I had to finish my degree remotely and my final recital was canceled. That’s, obviously, far less than ideal for a performance degree but everyone did the best they could and we got through it."

The silver lining for Gould, who plays multiple instruments and has performed with a variety of bands, has been performing several livestream concerts from home with her musical partner, husband Ryan.

Musician Lauryn Gould | Lauryn Gould

“It’s not at all the same without connecting with our bandmates and audience members,” she said. “Some friends and colleagues have been performing outdoors, masked and socially distanced, but I’d still consider the scene as a whole to be on hold.”

As a result of the coronavirus, Gould and her husband are mostly surviving off savings, grants, such as funds from Musicares and the Austin Jazz Society, unemployment benefits, donations from friends, fans, family and a well-honed ability to live within their means that comes with the territory of being a musician.

“These days I’m just performing from my own home via recording projects and the occasional livestream,” she said. “I’ve seen various numbers presented by different sources ranging from 62% to 90% of venues that will have to close permanently if they don’t receive significant aid. If we lose that many venues, it’s likely we’ll also lose many of the people who make up the community.” 

The coronavirus crept up on Texas again when cases began to surge in June.

Currently, the Texas Department of Health Services reports 686,068 confirmed cases and 14,848 fatalities statewide. As of Sept. 20, Austin listed 28,375 cases and 399 deaths on the dashboard.

“Our city officials talk a big game about the importance of our creative sector, but I don’t think they fully understand what’s at stake here,” Gould said. “If they don’t step in to save our industry, they’ll be in for a rude awakening when those tourism dollars stop flowing in. They’ll have to take down every sign that says 'Live Music Capitol of the World.'"

Gould grades the city’s efforts to provide financial help as an F.

“Essential organizations like the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) and The SIMS Foundation, iconic venues like the Saxon Pub, seasoned and dedicated professional musicians were all denied aid because of the city’s mismanagement of the distribution of the funds they offered,” she said. “We need city officials to actually show the music industry that they value us by prioritizing aid for our ailing sector over other big projects that are unnecessary at this time and tying up funds that could be put to more urgent use.”

When asked about the more than $200 million that the city of Austin could disburse today to the hardest-hit businesses, musicians/performers and music venues, Gould questioned why the funds remain earmarked to expand the convention center in the future. 

“We do not need a convention center expansion,” she said. “There is plenty of research that shows why that would be a poor investment even in the best of times. And these are not the best of times. Right now, we are in the middle of a crisis and there is no logical argument to spend any time or resources on that project before we ensure the survival of the industry that actually drives the tourism they so desperately want. City officials have an incredible opportunity to show the world that they value creativity and the richness and vibrancy it brings to our city. I hope they don’t let it pass them by.”