Somerville’s most popular entertainment venues are coming back to life after COVID-19 restrictions are largely lifted.

By Bella Levavi

After the three major Somerville music venues shut their doors over a year ago, Governor Baker’s order on May 29, 2021 has brought live music back to Massachusetts. 

Somerville residents are coming in huge numbers to the local venues to hear live music once again. “It’s bouncing back like it never happened,” Tommy McCarthy, owner of The Burren, said.

This year has not been easy for local venues. Each one had its individual struggles and handled their hardships in different ways.  The one similarity between them is that they are all bringing music back to Somerville in full force this summer.

Weeks before The Jungle Community Music Club planned their small reopening, Massachusetts announced they would allow full capacity in music venues once again, drastically changing their plans. In June, they will have small outdoor shows several times a week, and starting in July they will have larger indoor shows, and stay open late into the night.

Having a small online presence before the pandemic, their reopening announcement elicited an anticipatory social media response racking up over 2,000 views. 

The Jungle closed and reopened many times throughout the pandemic. Last summer Somerville announced they would not allow outdoor music to avoid potential large gatherings, this order was different from the neighboring towns who allowed live music across the Boston area. In compliance with this order, The Jungle allowed musicians to play live inside while they streamed the performance outside on their patio and online.

The Jungle acquired many loans to stay afloat during the pandemic. Being relatively new and small, they are expecting to take a long time to pay off these loans. Currently they are waiting on the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant to assist them in paying off what they owe.

Unlike The Jungle, ONCE Ballroom was unable to survive the Pandemic’s temporary closure. Shifting to an online streaming model for the pandemic, they decided to close their doors for good last November when the owner ran out of money.

Nevertheless, ONCE announced on June 11 that they will continue producing shows this summer in an outdoor venue. They plan to put on about 25 shows throughout the summer season, and include not only music, but magic shows as well as other acts.

The owner, JJ Gonson, thinks that having an open space will be more accessible for people who are not ready to return to large indoor crowds again. “Not everybody is ready to be with their masks off partying, so being outside is more inclusive,” Gonson said.

Whether people are looking for outdoor or indoor music, The Burren is already back to a full schedule of music this summer. The Irish pub in Davis Square has jam sessions in their front, music in their back room, and shows on their back patio.

McCarthy said they were hit the hardest by the pandemic from last November through the winter. With hybrid working schedules being a new normal, he noticed new lunch crowds during the week, and people with more energy to go out on Thursday and Friday nights.

These club owners learned many lessons from the hard times of the past year. Sam Epstein, the owner of the Jungle, said he learned to value musicians more than ever. “Somerville was the only place that denied Musicians the right to work safely outside, that’s when it struck me that more important than the customers is to treat musicians right.” 

“There is a special connection that happens with live music that is different from going bowling or seeing a movie,” Gonson said when asked what live music will bring to Somerville. “I can’t wait, all I want in the world is to see a live show.”