TOLEDO, Ohio — As restaurants and bars open back up, many business owners still have questions, one of which being "when can live music happen again?"
Adam Sorelle plays by himself and in a few music groups around Toledo and while it's not his full time job, he says it makes up about a third of his income.
"A lot of local musicians are far better than I am, they play exclusively as their single income. They do it full time pretty much every day of the week. I'm kind of a part-timer, I play maybe three times a week," said Sorelle.
While many Ohioans are allowed to return to work, independent musicians still don't really have an exact answer for when they can play inside public venues again. Additionally, many of them could not access unemployment throughout this time.
"That's their entire income, that's all they have. And it's hard for them to squeak by without any of that coming in," said Sorelle
Many local businesses like Black Kite Coffee have been trying to support musicians by holding virtual shows, or have musicians play inside for when customers pick up their food.
Tim Stahl owns Papas Tavern and has been doing something similar. Additionally, has been in constant communication with the health department and other state officials to see when he can welcome his performers back inside.
"I was told it would gather too many people in one area and we wouldn't been able to do that," said Stahl.
Although it's not the answer he was hoping for, Stahl understands why things are moving slowly. He is preparing to welcome musicians back safely as soon as he can.
"We have put up a plastic barrier between the musicians and the customers to double the safety. Go in, get up some guidelines. We will follow the guidelines just give us guidelines to follow," said Stahl.
Indoor dining is allowed to resume Thursday.