LA GRANDE — Music lovers across the world are itching to get back to live shows following a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With infection numbers lowering nationwide, the owners of HQ on Depot Street in La Grande have sights set on a regular slate of concerts returning to the venue.

“It’s really challenging right now at half capacity, but we want to engage the community and get active and get people moving and shaking again,” said HQ co-owner Chris Jennings.

Jennings and co-owner Jesse Cimone hosted HQ’s first live concert since the pandemic on Saturday, May 22, when Klamath Falls artist Arthur Buezo graced the local stage. The owners were unsure how the turnout would be, but the event reached capacity and they even had to turn away guests at the front doors.

“The impression is that people are eager to get back,” Cimone said. “Keeping that eagerness is really important.”

Staying afloat during pandemic

With state and local guidelines still in place for indoor gatherings, HQ is able to welcome in approximately 50 attendees for concerts. This limit will be in place on Saturday, June 26, when Enterprise native Bart Budwig comes to town. Brian Mandella will open for Budwig, with the concert set to start at 8 p.m. and doors opening at 7 p.m.

Looking forward, the owners of HQ hope that heightened vaccination numbers in Oregon will lead to the possibility of larger capacity limits for events.

“It’s going to be a slow build into public events,” Jennings said. “Hopefully by August we’re doing at least two to three shows a month again.”

The main challenge of a limited capacity is the lost potential revenue in ticket and beverage sales.

“The biggest problem is that it’s hard to make money at that capacity,” Jennings said. “It costs more to run a show than it does to have a show.”

One group HQ has worked with to combat this issue is the National Independent Venue Association, which was created in April of 2020 with the goal of helping concert venues stay afloat during the pandemic. NIVA spans across every state in the US and its members account for over 3,000 venues, promoters and music festivals. Through NIVA’s advocating, the Small Business Administration is currently administering the Save Our Stages Act as part of the COVID-19 Relief Bill to supply grants to local venue operators.

Reengaging the community

To deal with the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, HQ is still enforcing masks at live events. Guests that are sitting or drinking a beverage are allowed to take off their mask while inside the venue.

“I think people need to be responsible for where we’re at and it’s their job now,” Jennings said. “We’re advocates for getting vaccinated and the sooner everyone does, the sooner we can have a fully operational space.”

With live concerts seemingly coming back into the fold rather quickly across the US, scheduling artists is now the top priority at HQ. The venue typically receives interest from artists traveling between Boise, Portland and Seattle, with the Treefort Festival in Boise being another big draw for La Grande.

“As of right now the intent is to do more shows,” Cimone said. “Right now it’s about once a month, but we’ve got to do more than that. I suspect that we’ll have one or two next month and alongside that we’re starting open mic nights.”

Open mic nights are just one of the many ways that the HQ owners envision the community using the space following the pandemic. The facility’s sound system, digital video production and live streaming capabilities open doors for a wide number of event possibilities in the space.

Jennings, the director and co-founder of the Eastern Oregon Film Festival, also uses the space for film screenings and fundraiser events. The HQ owners are open to booking small gatherings, improv, theatre performances or any other interested proposals.

“If there are people who are interested in bringing their idea to a creative space or need help aligning certain tech or projects, that’s really what this space is made for,” Jennings said.

HQ has been hosting events for roughly three years and has been the home base for EOFF over the last five years. With the pandemic bringing a halt to much of the momentum Jennings and Cimone were able to build over the years, the task now is to reengage the community.

“I see it as a mandatory piece to a thriving community,” Jennings said. “It’s an essential ingredient to how we can thrive. I’m excited for more of that to happen.”

Jennings and Cimone plan on hosting open stage nights for local musicians in addition to the of concerts coming this summer.

and beyond. With concert venues across the country slowly bouncing back, HQ will look to provide a regular schedule of live music and other events in the coming months.

“In general, we run this business because we like it,” Cimone said. “We like doing the events and the scene and all those other things. I’m very excited about having music and using the space.”