London Music Hall wants to reopen, when the time is right

Concert venues hard hit by pandemic closures With no clear date for concerts to resume, small London venues especially are worried about the future. CTV's Nick Paparella explains.

London, Ont. — The London Music Hall has had to cancel or postpone 46 shows during the outbreak of COVID-19 and depending on the dates more may follow suit all because of physical distancing.

“It has affected our industry and in particular us here we're feeling the pain," said Mike Manuel, the owner of the London Music Hall. “Venues like our, we're all about social gathering, people are shoulder to shoulder. Eighty per cent of our concerts are stand-up, they're not seated.”

Mike’s partner, his son Demetri Manuel, says he wants to re-open, but not until the time is right.

“We don't want to open too early and we want to make sure that everyone is safe when they do come back to the London Music Hall,” said the younger Manuel.

However, despite COVID-19, there will be a performance at the music hall this weekend. It's a fundraiser for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“We will be hosting a live stream from our stage so some of the best electronic music DJs in the city including local icon John Acquaviva will be playing on our stage,” said Demetri.