June 29, 2020

The White Wall Sessions has suspended its eighth season and future work indefinitely, pointing to repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With over half of our sessions already canceled, it will not be feasible to meet our normal September broadcasting deadline,” the organization said in a post on Facebook.

“Our radio show on B102.7 will also be suspended after the current run finishes in August. This has been a very tough decision and was not made with haste.

“As anxious as we all are to get things back to normal, the fact is that COVID-19 cases are still on the rise here and throughout the country, and we don’t really see an end to this anytime in the near future. We feel it is the only right thing to do for the safety of our crew and family, our musicians and our fans. 

“There are a lot of moving parts to a production like this, and when some of those parts fall away, it makes things very difficult to continue.”

While the organization said it would like to think it simply will bounce back, “that is probably not the case,” it continued.

“This project has always been a grassroots project and quite honestly has struggled financially from the beginning.

“We have gotten by on a lot of volunteer work and a lot of very talented people working for little to no money. Our lone source of revenue is our sponsors and occasional patrons. Unfortunately, being unable to produce the show this year, our revenue stream essentially goes away.”

The hope is to produce a limited number of “best of” episodes, with a repackaged compilation of greatest hits from over the years for this upcoming season.

“After that, we will see what happens,” the organization said.

Jeff Zueger established the venture in 2013. Patrons could watch the show recorded live in the lower-level studio of The Last Stop CD Shop on East 10th Street, and it later was aired on KELO-TV.

“I get chills when I think about all of the special moments we have captured in our different studios. A huge shout-out to all of the musicians who have graced our stage and to all the different crew folk who helped produce the show along the way. This would not exist without all of you,” Zueger said.

“We also need to give an enormous thank you to our sponsors and broadcasting partners. I personally would like to thank all of the fine people who have helped make this production what it was. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Any business or individual interested in supporting The White Wall Sessions going forward can find a donation button here.