Return of live shows at Caesars Hotel and Casino gives hope to local musicians
Windsor, Ont., venue had closed March 16, 2020, due to COVID-19 followed by cancellation of acts
The return of live shows to the Caesars Hotel and Casino is giving optimism to local musicians about the future for live music events in Windsor, Ont., after they were largely shelved because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's a glimmer of hope for all musicians ... that maybe we're coming out of this," Windsor musician South River Slim told the CBC.
In late September, Ontario introduced a vaccination passport system where you have to be double vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter venues like casinos, gyms and restaurants.
Slim is booked to play in December at the Cosmos Lounge, a smaller venue at the Caesars casino that features local acts. In the larger Colosseum venue, REO Speedwagon is booked for Dec. 11, when the doors reopen. Other acts, such as Slash and the Tenors, have already been lined up, but Caesars says people should stay tuned for announcements about more shows in the future.
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Slim said it's been a difficult time for musicians through the pandemic.
"We can only hope and pray that it just keeps coming back and things stay on course."
Slim said since venues have been able to host live gigs again, he has played a couple of bars and people have been enjoying the return to live music.
"People are just so happy. I'm on stage watching them and you can just see, it's like a relief," he said.
"It's probably going to take people the same amount of time as the pandemic to come back to normalcy of some sort and live music will bring that hopefulness back because a lot of people just love music."
Happy music fans
Jake Cierpisz is a big fan of live shows, but the last one he saw was Journey when they played Comerica Park in Detroit about three years ago.
"I can't wait," he said adding he and his wife had tickets for Styx and Guns N' Roses, but both concerts were put off by the pandemic.
He said he's not booking any shows yet, but isn't nervous about getting back out there when he does.
"We'll just be careful, and wear our masks and keep our distance from everybody," Cierpisz said.
The Beatty family agreed, saying they would also be comfortable getting out to see a concert if things are done safely and venues check for vaccination status.
"Especially after the last two years of everything being closed down, I think it will be good for Windsor and it's exciting kind of life going back to normal a little bit," Reide Beatty said.
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