SALT LAKE CITY — Live entertainment is making a comeback following COVID lockdowns, with dozens of bands and singers on the road again and playing in front of fans.
It is quite literally music to the ears of Darin Piccoli, co-owner of The State Room Presents, but also a mind-boggling amount of work, trying to get back to normal following a long coronavirus layoff.
The State Room Presents features two main venues in Salt Lake City: The State Room and Commonwealth Room.
After working nonstop for more than a decade building up their clientele, the reputation of Piccoli and his partner, and forming a family-like staff, all came to an abrupt end in March 2020, along with most of the rest of the world.
There were several challenges, including a long wait for government grants, but Piccoli always maintained a positive outlook to reassure his staff and music lovers that they will survive.
“It felt really important to communicate that from the get go and say, ‘OK, we are going to pivot right now, but we’re not planning on going anywhere,' and made as many adjustments as we could at the beginning of this for the long-haul,” said Piccoli. "But we’re excited, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Piccoli says running live music clubs means long days and late nights. He added that the unexpected benefit of the long layoff was spending more time with family, and doing a lot more skiing than normal.
But the group also got to take a long look at how they would use federal grant money to improve their clubs and make the experience even better for fans.
In a little more than three weeks, music will return with a “Knock Off the Rust“ show at the Commonwealth Room, while The State Room will be back up and running after Labor Day.