NEW ORLEANS — Hogs For The Cause, Buku Fest, and Top Taco are just some of the latest big events that have been canceled or postponed to try and contain the coronavirus. This is having a major financial impact on people who make these events possible. It's the peak time of year for festivals and music events.
"Oh, this is it, yea. Late March and April are the biggest time of year for every New Orleans musician," New Orleans musician Dave Jordan said.
All of Jordan's gigs have been canceled through the rest of the month. As a musician, he goes by Dave Jordan & The NIA.
"I lost Hogs For The Cause, which is a very big gig. I was supposed to play Wednesday at the Square yesterday, which is a very big gig," Jordan said.
Sentre Sound is a production company that works staging, audio and lighting. Right now, their production equipment will stay in storage. Normally this time of year, it's out at events.
14 of their events including Top Taco and Hogs for the Cause were canceled.
"This is the busiest time of the year for us," Miguel Barrosse with Sentre Sound said. "We probably lost 20 to 30 percent of our yearly income in a matter of a few hours."
Cancellations are also affecting photographers like Zack Smith.
"Everybody has lost a job or two or three," he said.
He was supposed to shoot a 3-day conference next week. It was canceled.
"It's every day; there's something new it seems," Smith said.
It's not clear how long this will last. Sentre Sound is waiting to hear from French Quarter Fest, another major event they help produce.
"It's still up in the air. We don't know what's happening with that," Barrosse said.
The last time they felt a hit like this was following Hurricane Katrina.
"Like, it's almost about to be the wild, wild west," Jordan said.
Jordan gets why these tough calls were made.
"I think about the bigger picture, we have to get a grip on what's going on. For me, it's a gig.
They're all hoping for relief soon.
"We're hoping for some assistance, absolutely," Barrosse said.
"New Orleans will figure it out. We're uniquely adept at handling these situations," Jordan said.
On a local, state, and national level there are discussions happening to figure out how to financially assist people like this who are feeling this impact.
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