I expect things will get back to normal eventually but how long???....

Just to second what Madmax has said...it's all a question of duration. The longer the virus is 'out there' and active, the longer music venues will be prohibited from staging a live band. Most pubs have the bar (obviously!) and usually food as well as their principal revenue streams (although these have obviously taken a massive hit as well) and putting on a band is an 'extra' which they do to get the tills ringing so they aren't utterly dependent on staging a band. Other venues, however, which ARE utterly dependent on a live act are in a really tough place and permanent closure is a very real prospect.

BromDrums Optimism is supported we will find a way to bring live music back, I personally thought of Live music in the park near me which is huge, social distancing would be possible you could have area's sprayed in florecent paint, where known people (family mabye close friend could congregate and social distance with a max no of people, and area's/path sprayed in paint enabling social distance to get people around the park

The problem comess at the entrance to the park where there would either be blockages from too many entering or exiting or blockages (-->-->>-->>>-->>-->->) waves of people bunching up since the regulations are less strict now except in supermarkets but things will change.
I Realise my Idea might seem idealistic but I doubt I'm the only one and someone like me, who has, thought it through who has the right connections to the government will turn things around.

So thats a good question James for now we'll have to organise small garden parties with our friends and family, play blues with songs that start with "I woke up this morning" :)

Interesting thoughts on outdoor music @AFOAudioFRG I guess it's just a shame some people can't be trusted to keep a safe distance apart. Agree with BromDrums on the awful fight facing owners of indoor music venues. I heard yesterday there was some talk of shutting pubs to offset the increased infections created by opening schools but, I think it's all just 'noise' at the moment. Perhaps once a vaccine is available things will start to get a bit better....

I wasn't aware that I was showing any 'optimism'...if anything, I'm inclined to think otherwise. My comment regarding how pubs make their money was only to demonstrate the chance (not likelihood, merely chance!) of how pubs - as future live music venues - might survive on the High St. That isn't to say that a live band playing in that pub is going to happen anytime soon. As James131232 point out, if pubs have to shut for a second time to make it possible for schools to open, then that just makes a bad situation worse. The only saving grace here - and it's not one to take much comfort from - is that every band is in the same boat at the moment.

Just heard that my local music pub (part of the Fuller's chain of pubs) will NOT be staging any live bands until 2021. That's 4 months from where we are at the moment and I reckon that that will be at the earliest date...in reality, I suspect it will be longer still.

Live music has seen these ebbs and flows before, although not so devastating as the current crisis. If Covid 19 can only be contained with variations of the current methods it looks as though outdoor performances will be the only option and it will be difficult to police them. If it gets swept aside by a vaccine, (and I pray that it will) the problems look largely economic. Pubs and other small venues have seen their income drop drastically.

Venues need a good crowd to pay for a band and the average band has at least three members; most having four or more. If the venues can't pay for large bands maybe the 'bands' need to think about downsizing. It has been done before; solo artists and duos using backing tracks to get a much bigger sound but it's only partly 'live' and seems to be falling out of fashion. We want to see blood and sweat!

There are a number of acts around which use various combinations of instruments and / or looping pedals to achieve a bigger sound and they play a surprising variety of music. Creativity, talent and imagination may steer the future in this direction. Here's a list of duos and soloists which, hopefully. will provide much food for thought.

1 - The Cyborgs - electric blues - original material - Italian.
2 - The Wye Oak - indie original stuff - American.
3 - Hymn for Her - original rock - punk - quirky - bluegrass - blues - American
4 - Mike Love - original reggae - Hawaii
5 - Juzzie Smith - originals and covers - different styles and blues - New Zealand or Oz. Not sure.
6 - Christopher Ameruos - rock - swamp rock - originals - America
7 - The Distance - covers - UK - (Although mainly a wedding band they are very talented and use a stack of
gear and looping pedals to create a big sound. They also do gentle and acoustic)
8 - Mike Snowden - blues and originals - instrumentals - USA.

There's loads more. If you can sort out the right combination of who is going to do what and to whom you could be on to a winner. Can two people do what three used to do? surely! This could be the way in to smaller venues to get started. A smaller fee becomes bigger when split between two.

As we say in the Black Country - Yo do know wot yo core do till yo avagoo!

If you want to upsize later think of the the duo Buckingham - Nicks who added Mick Fleetwood and John and Christine Mc Vie to become to huge Fleetwood Mac!

Garden parties, pub beer gardens, mini festivals - people organising sessions for friends may be a starting point. Two of you could entertain at such a venue with minimal gear. A hypothetical combination could be guitar / bass / foot percussion.

A portable battery powered bass amp for your bass guitar and/ or keyboard. This could also handle a stomp box for your bass drum. Maybe a bass ukulele is worth considering. They sound a lot like double basses.
A portable busking amp (Roland make several) for your guitar and mike(s).
You would also need a couple of stands and maybe two small battery powered mixers to provide multiple inputs.

Place the busking amp in a higher position than the floor. Some can be mounted on a stand like a p.a. speaker.

This set up could also be used to busk in public places.

When things come back to normal I believe smaller pubs etc. will probably look at smaller outfits as there is a suspicion that bands of a certain size will be noisy. This is confirmed by Weird Wilfred Widdley staggering through the door with a 200 watt Marshall stack on his back. Old ladies run away in fear.

As said before you can start small and add musicians as required when the gigs get bigger. Mega duos of yesteryear did this all the time and still remained essentially duos. Simon and Garfunkel and the Everly Brothers come to mind.

Seasick Steve worked with just a drummer for some time. Super bassist John Paul Jones came along later and also added slide and mandolin.

Chas and Dave are a very good example of prcticality. Both were jobbing musicians with regular professional work but only started to make a real impact (and decent money) when they played the London pubs as a duo performing their 'Rockney' music. They re- invented the Saturday night sing along. The drummer was added later as the gigs got bigger.

The Worry Dolls have a delicate folky sound; sweet harmonies complemented by a stack of different instruments. They add a bassist when needed but are still a duo.

A rockier double act, Larkin Poe, are sisters who are essentially a duo. They can work small scale or with larger combos.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from the Worry Dolls you have the White Stripes and Royal Blood who are out and out rock acts. They are still duos though.

On a practical level, when there are only two of you there are less people to fall out with. There are also less people to persuade when sorting out a set. How many of you have been in a band which does not contain a member of the awkward squad? thought so ...

Small is beautiful; small is big.

There is a club near me that is still having live music. It is achievable with good planning and sensible members. So come on music venues, get yourself organised otherwise live music may disappear forever.
They stick strictly to the rules:
- everybody must remain seated
- have to wear a mask when you go to the loo
- order drinks from the table
- no dancing (although they do shimmy a bit when going to the loo!)
- no singing (this rule may not have been strictly adhered too!)

It is members only and due to reduced numbers (down to 70 from about 160) they are charged 3 a ticket whereas members used to be free. Tickets sell out in a day and no one is complaining. I played there a couple of weeks ago and it was great, although a bit weird that there was no dancing.

We did take a slight hit on the money by about 20% but then we did finish at 9:30 instead of midnight.

We had to sack the trombone player to get our numbers down to six...

Yes it will, with DIY gigs following proper security and distancing rules.

what i see at the moment are makeshift shelters in pub and restaurant car parks and gardens. i imagine these will become permanent pergolas covering whole beer gardens and free spaces. as far as indoor venues at pubs go its been dying a slow death for 20 years. you need to sell a lot of beer and food to pay for a band, people will not return to their old social habits so its the venues that have to change.live music will survive and thrive on garden parties and outdoor events which will become far more commonplace . people are reeling from the constant chemical biological and armed terrorist attacks which is now exacerbated by covid. none of these problems are going away ,so we need to adapt and learn to live with it. keep calm and party on.