LOS ANGELES – Remember when live music was live? According to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, large public gatherings are not likely any time soon.

“It’s difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands any time soon. So I think we should be prepared for that this year,” Garcetti said.

Mayor Garcetti’s public health concerns directly affect music entrepreneurs like Bobby Dee, a concert promoter, booking agent, and business partner of rap artist Snoop Dogg.

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“I do shows in every market, every genre. And it just hit us. And now all my Snoop shows, as a manager, as a booking agent, those all had to get postponed too. And we keep getting postponements to this day. To this minute. That’s why I have to work every day,” Bobby Dee said.

As he is working to reschedule concerts, including the highly anticipated “Lovers and Friends” show, an all-star lineup that was supposed to take place in May, he says he is not only trying to take care of the fans’ expectations, but also manage the working artists that financially depend on his shows.

“A lot of these artists survive on the live shows. So, it’s like, I feel so bad. I try to help as much as I can. Snoop and I have been giving $150 away to a needy family every day. Just to try help out,” he explained.

 

 

 

In the meantime, one avid Bobby Dee concert goer says he is okay with waiting it out.

“I’m okay with the concerts being postponed. It’s better being safe than sorry,” Gabriel Merito said.

As of right now, it’s basically a waiting game. Bobby Dee says he will do everything he can to make the concerts happen in the safest manner possible.

“It’s really going to be what the venue is instructing. We’ll provide whatever we have to as promoters. I’ll go with the flow. If I have to provide gloves at my expense or masks, whatever. I just hope that eventually people do go back to some type of normalcy,” he said.

And while live music is temporarily on hold, music itself is still alive. Bobby Dee is working with his artists, including Snoop Dogg, to provide digital experiences for fans, in the meantime.