Camden Town’s iconic folk, blues, jazz, roots and world music venue, Green Note, has a five- point plan to maintain safety when it reopens to live audiences next Monday (19 July) when Government legal restrictions for venues are removed.
“As we are a small, intimate venue, we don't feel that opening Green Note with absolutely no restrictions would be the most sensible thing to do at this point” says Immy Doman, who has run Green Note with her childhood friend, Risa Tabatznik, since they founded it together in 2005.
Since then, many now famous artists have performed at Green Note including Ed Sheeran, Amy Whitehouse, Michael Kiwanuka, Jacob Collier, Anais Mitchell, Kay Tempest, Toumani Diabate, The Magic Numbers, Hank Wangford, Johnny Flynn and The Shires. The award-winning venue has survived lockdown thanks to a combination of Government support and developing a new international audience through live streaming more than 300 performers.
“The Government's decision that all compulsory restrictions will be lifted from July 19th, has put us in a very difficult position regarding how to proceed,“ say Immy and Risa, who are unusual being two women running a live music venue as the music venue industry is mostly run by men. “Given the lack of clear Government guidance, the onus is very much on each venue as to what decisions they take around reopening. We have therefore decided to put some safety measures in place so we can operate as safely as possible, within our existing limitations. These are: - Reducing the audience for shows at Green Note to approximately 75%- 80% of full capacity. - Requesting that everyone wears a mask when moving around the venue and when not eating/drinking. - Requesting that everyone coming to Green Note does a lateral flow Covid test within 24 hours before attending the venue, even if vaccinated. - Maximising ventilation with new air conditioning units installed during lockdown, and new UVC viruskiller ventilation units. - Performing temperature checks on the door and requesting hand sanitisation on entry. “We’re aware that this is a lot to ask of people, and that not everyone will agree with our entry requirements” says Immy.
“We know there will be other venues opening without any restrictions at all. However, we are taking whatever steps we can that we feel are realistic and sensible under the circumstances, to ensure our own safety and that of others. In line with our safety rules, we will have online booking only and will not be selling any tickets on the door. “Many of our staff are not yet fully vaccinated and we now know that even those who are fully vaccinated are still at risk of contracting and transmitting Covid. In fact we both know a number of people who are fully vaccinated and have recently contracted the virus. We have a small, dedicated team of staff and we need to do our best to protect them in order to keep the venue open. “We don’t want to be forced to shut again, letting down countless musicians who have waited almost a year and a half to return to the stage, and disappointing audiences who have looked forward to returning to live music.”
Live performances at Green Note next week include Ethan Johns with the Black Eyed Dogs, Ruth Theodore, the Gabriel Moreno Trio, Molly and the Moon, Jose McGill and the Vagaband, and Balkan band, Paprika. “We’re not going to pretend that the venue will be 100% ‘Covid-safe’, because, realistically, very few places where people congregate are truly Covid-safe these days. If any venue claims otherwise, this is simply not true. However, if we all play our part, we can do our best to keep Green Note as safe as possible so we can continue to offer the best live folk and roots music in London. We both feel so much better having made these decisions about safety and are now feeling much more positive about reopening” Immy and Risa say.
“The good news is that we've had some really positive and encouraging feedback already from our supporters and some of our shows next week are already sold out. “Thanks to advice from the Music Venue Trust, Arts Council funding, the Government furlough scheme, and our new online programme Virtually Green Note, we’ve been able to survive through over a year of closure, and it’s due to a grant from the Arts Council that we’re excited to be promoting our ‘Cool Women’ programme.”
See the programme: greennote.co.uk
This is a season celebrating female artists and frontwomen, running from July to October this year and including artists such as Vimala Rowe, Katy Rose Bennett, Katey Brooks, Baskery and the Heard Collective amongst others. “In an industry which is still male dominated, we're proud to be supporting and promoting women in music, an area that is close to our hearts. We are feeling positive about the future, mixing live events and livestreaming.”