Oakland Press (MI) (05/02/21) Graff, Gary

Hope for the resumption of live attended concerts is slowly returning to the Detroit area and its music industry, although tempered by caution. Michigan still restricts the size of gatherings, but a recent surge of concert announcements for summer and fall has raised hopes that live performances are on the horizon. 313 Presents is selling tickets for new shows this year at full capacity, as well as rescheduled concerts from last year that remain on venues' slate. The Michigan Opera Theater also will present a socially distanced performance of Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" on June 12 at the Meadow Brook Amphitheater, while Genesis, Andrea Bocelli and other acts have late-year dates at Little Caesars Arena. More locally focused live music is happening in smaller venues, including outdoors at the Hotel Royal Oak, Detroit's Cadieux Cafe, the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester and Wildwood Amphitheater in Lake Orion. "With vaccines out and case numbers coming down ... the trajectory is very positive," said Carey Denha, owner of the Magic Bag in Ferndale. However, Lynn Sutfin of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said the pandemic has not yet ended. "MDHHS continues to monitor data closely, including ... case rates, percent positivity and hospitalizations," she noted. "While many states across the country have dropped basic health protocols altogether, the state of Michigan continues to implement smart health policies and mitigations measures ... to help us slow the spread of this virus."

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