INDIANAPOLIS — The entertainment industry has been one of the hardest hit during the pandemic. Places where you could watch live music or dance were some of the first to shut down and last to reopen. Friday night, Fountain Square looked a bit like pre-Covid times. Kylie Williams with the local dance collective INDance helped make it feel like that.
"I just love the First Fridays that are going on. Having local artists out and about, having music. It's really endless possibilities. It's amazing," Williams said. The modern dance collective spent a few hours entertaining people who had come to Fountain Square to enjoy their evening. For Williams, it was a homecoming of sorts.
"I can remember coming to Fountain Square in 2012 my senior year of high school and I thought this is an amazing set up for dance. Why is there not dance happening here? I went to school in Pittsburgh, came back here and I saw there still wasn't dance happening so I wanted to make a change," she added.
InDance weren't the only ones providing entertainment in Fountain Square on Friday night. The Hi-Fi Annex held its first show in its revamped outdoor space.
"it just feels good to be back. We're kind of halfway there I think. We have tours coming back. Bands are ready to play shows again. Fans are coming out," Josh Baker, who owns the Hi-Fi Annex, said. Although there were dozens of people there Friday and many others have bought tickets in advance for shows, Baker tells WRTV, he believes there are still some who are weighing their options about live entertainment.
"I think there's a group that's a little bit cautious, slow to get vaccinated but hopefully that will happen here in the next few months and they naturally come back out."
More than a year into the pandemic, Baker is thankful to see people back at his venue. However, as someone who cares about Fountain Square and saw first-hand how devastating the pandemic was to the entertainment industry, he will be happy when he sees other places are open.
"We've got White Rabbit and a lot of other great places around the neighborhood. Radio, Radio is also doing stuff. Once we get everybody back up and running, that's going to be that pinnacle moment when we feel like this entertainment district is back," Baker said.
