Some sad news about an important musical landmark in L.A. and where the Eagles were essentially born.

Like so many other music venues, the Troubadour is facing tough financial times due to the shutdown. They have started a GoFundMe page to raise funds.

But as Gov. Gavin Newsom was recently laying out the stages by which businesses may be able to re-open, Christine Karayan, the club’s general manager, realized the seeming futility of the Troubadour’s plight. Newsom has announced that music venues will be among the last to open, in Phase 4. ....“That means the middle to the end of next year to potentially open, and maybe a 25% cap” on crowd size, Karayan says. “I can’t foresee being able to ride this out like that.”
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The Troubadour brand in Los Angeles is so embedded into music culture that many fans misunderstand the mechanics of the club, Karayan says. Describing it as “a little bit forgotten,” Karayan says, “We’re lumped in with the big boys, and we’re not the big boys. We don’t have shareholders. We don’t have corporate money. We are what we are.”

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When she read a month ago that Live Nation and AEG were predicting a fall 2020 reopening, Karayan was relieved. “I was like, ‘We can do that. We probably won’t have concerts until the end of the year, but it’s OK.” But, she adds, “Now it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. We’re talking, potentially, the middle of next year.’”

As an active member of the National Independent Venue Assn., she’s communicating with its 800 affiliates about lobbying for government aid. She says that many have expressed doubt that they’ll be able to survive an extended closure without immediate help.

Like many businesses, the Troubadour set up a GoFundMe page to help its 20 hourly employees, some of whom have worked at the club for decades, meet their needs. All but three have been laid off. To date, the campaign has raised $11,400 of its $30,000 goal. But that was a stopgap measure, and Karayan said the club will soon be raising its goal to underscore the urgency. It’s one of the only remaining options.

“Historic Troubadour nightclub launches GoFundMe page, calls survival ‘a big if’” by Randall Roberts, L.A. Times, May 5, 2020

In case this article is behind a paywall, here’s a link to another article:

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/his...virus-closure/