It’s been more than a year since music and live entertainment venues in Oakland turned off their stage lights. Some have bided their time, while others were forced to shutter for good. Among the casualties: The Uptown Nightclub, which closed in September, and Starline Social Club, which called it quits in October.

Some banded together to form the National Independent Venue Association and pressure Congress for financial relief. Of the 800 venues nationwide that joined NIVA, 25 are in the Bay Area, including The New Parish and The Fox Theater (operated by Another Planet Entertainment) in Oakland. The association played a key role in getting Congress to pass the Save Our Stages Act, a $16 billion emergency assistance fund that launched this week.

More seemingly good news arrived on April 2, when California’s health department announced that performance venues in counties in the orange tier, including Alameda County, would be allowed to host indoor shows, in a limited fashion, as early as April 15.

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