The New England Musicians Relief Fund (NEMRF) has launched an initiative to reach $500,000 in donations by March 13, the one-year anniversary of when COVID-19 forced the entertainment industry in the region to shut down.
Founded in 2020 by a host of Boston-area musicians, union leaders, executives, and music supporters, NEMRF is helping qualified New England musicians weather financial difficulties by providing them with relief checks.
NEMRF hopes to provide a meaningful financial boost to help struggling musicians pay the rent and buy food, and help bridge the gap until they can get back to work.
The global pandemic has created an acute crisis for the more than 2,000 freelance musicians who make their livings playing live music across New England. Because of the nature of their work, many do not fit neatly into either the traditional economy or the gig economy.
As a result, when venues shut down in March 2020, musicians fell through the cracks and were left without regular income, many benefits, and, for many, any form of unemployment insurance.
One year later, without a clear sign of when their industry will return, many of these professional musicians are in desperate need of relief.
“When things shut down last March, we never imagined that one year later, venues would still be closed, musicians would still be out of work, and that we'd have no idea when live music might return,” NEMRF president Gabriel Rice said in a news release.
Rice said applications for relief funds “are arriving into our inbox at an accelerating pace, making our work even more urgent.”
To date, NEMRF has provided grants of $1,000 to more than 300 performers across every genre and region in New England. Any professional musician in New England and New York's Upper Hudson Valley facing financial difficulties can apply for a grant at NEMRF.org/apply. Supporters wishing to make a tax-deductible donation to the Immediate Relief Fund may do so at NEMRF.org/takeaction.
The most optimistic predictions suggest live music won't return before this fall, and Hazel Dean Davis, NEMRF vice president, said that “it could be years before we return to the vibrant music scenes that existed before COVID.”