AUSTIN, Texas — Steven Vague readies his saxophone and sets his mic stand a safe six feet away from his other bandmates as he sets the stage for an afternoon of jazz.
He's done this hundreds of times before during his career as a musician. Thanks to COVID-19, lately it's felt a bit different. The pandemic has restricted when and where he can play, so any opportunity to jam with his friends feels heaven sent.
Playing jazz in the driveway for the neighbors isn't exactly a normal day at the office for Vague or his band mates he recruited for his Driveway Jazz Concert series.
Despite the unique venue Vague says his musician friends were more than happy to join him.
"Well, they were all free," Vague said laughingly.
The pandemic is ravaging the entertainment industry in Austin, as the venues Vague and his friends are used to playing stay closed to gigs indefinitely during the pandemic. The band's singer, Debra Watson had just picked up steady work before COVID-19 shut down the city.
"My band had just gotten residency at Central Market West Gate, so we had got to play one gig," Watson said. "It's hard for musicians right now because you know for many it's our livelihood, but for a lot of us it's our passion."
That passion couldn't be locked down in the house for too long. That's why Vague enlisted the help of musicians around the city to join him in his concert series he started last summer. For them, it's an opportunity to play the music you love for an actual audience and getting paid to do it. For Vague it's all of that and more.... A chance to help out and play with some of his favorite people.
"I worry about these great players who I normally can't get unless I contact them three months ahead of time," Vague said. "They're all like 'Yeah, I'm available. Tomorrow, sure let's do it!"
It's a welcome site for the neighbors as well. Every concert is met with a spaced out crowd of neighbors in lawn chairs or blankets in their front yards. Those seats are cleared by the end of the hour long event, when the music has already swept spectators out of their seats to dance in the streets.
Debbie Deiters is one spectator who gets down from the comfort of her lawn chair. She's a little older, so she can't swing like she used to. It also means she's at a higher risk for COVID-19, and being around people could be dangerous. That's why safe, socially distant events like Vague's Jazz Concert are perfect for her.
"To be able to get out and see people rather than just drive around in a car and go through drive-thrus," she said. "This is special."