Grand Junction's Local Music Scene is Slowly Recovering

Because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, venues across the country were forced to close their doors and cancel/postpone all concerts that were set to take place in the months following. However, one of Grand Junction's most popular music venues, The Mesa Theater will reopen their doors tonight with the start of a concert series featuring local bands.

I spoke with Sofia Benham, the drummer of local band Peach Street Revival about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the local music scene and how the scene is slowly recovering. She reminisced about the closing of music venues and cancelling of concerts as "heartbreaking," and noted that while the members of Peach Street Revival, fortunately, have other means of income, some local musicians are not as lucky.

She also commented that while local bands were unable to play gigs in front of crowds, many of them, including her band, played virtual concerts in the privacy of their homes and/or rehearsal spaces and streamed them live on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The Mesa Theater's concert series kicks off tonight with Cloak and Dagger Club, followed with a performance by Peach Street Revival tomorrow night. Tickets to these shows are only $10, and although The Mesa Theater can hold 840 people, capacity for these concerts is set at only 150 people.

Since hearing about The Mesa Theater opening back up, I've seen a glimmer of hope for our other local concert venues such as The Avalon Theatre and Las Colonias Amphitheater's survival. Hopefully, the other venues in town will be able to follow suit and live music will once again flourish in Grand Junction.