The electronic music duo “Disclosure” was supposed to be part of the 2020 concert season at the Santa Barbara Bowl. But their April 15 concert, and in fact, the entire 2020 Santa Barbara Bowl season, has been scrapped due to coronavirus safety concerns.
Rick Boller is Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation, which runs the more than four thousand seat concert venue. He says they are now focusing on putting together the Bowl’s 2021 season, which will include some of the acts which had to be cancelled this year.
One of the biggest acts which has already rescheduled is John Legend. He was supposed to perform this September, but the date has been pushed to September of 2021. Some events that were cancelled are being rescheduled, but don’t have dates yet. People with tickets to cancelled events, or postponed ones can get refunds at their point of purchase.
A big unanswered question at this point is what a Santa Barbara Bowl concert might look like if we still have to social distance. Can the Bowl make a concert work financially if it can only use a 33%, or 50% of its seats? Boller says concert venunes around the country are looking at the possibilities.
He says as they work on the 2021 season, they are also trying to do some major fundraising. The bowl is a non-profit, and relies on the events it hosts to pay the bills. The Foundation is trying to raise $612,000 to fill the gap. It’s nearly a quarter of the way there, with $135,000 pledged.
Boller says they can’t wait to get the music playing again at the Bowl. The facility has lost concerts in the past to events like brush fires, but never an entire season. He says they are hopeful they can get a full season in during 2021, including many of the acts which were supposed to perform in Santa Barbara this year.
