More Metro Detroit Venues Now Require Proof of Covid Vaccination to Enter

The Magic Bag, Royal Oak Music Theatre, The Masonic Temple, Small’s bar, the Film Lab, and Planet Ant venues now require proof of vaccination status or a negative COVID test within 24 hours for entry to the entertainment venues. In Ann Arbor, Michigan and State theaters will begin requiring all guests older than 12 to require the same, as of Friday, August 27.

Similar requirements will go into place on Wednesday, September 1 at El Club, which will accept a photocopy of a vaccination card as proof. Because El Club is an all-ages venue, the new requirements extend to children younger than 12. Those too young to receive the vaccine must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test before entering the venue.

The recent moves by the venues for live music followed Detroit’s Marble Bar, which on July 26, became the first to require patrons to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to gain admittance to its venue. Several of the venues cited the Delta variant, which is considered far more contagious, as cause for new guidelines.

Live Nation, one of the nation’s largest concert promoters, also has new COVID entry guidelines for both artists and guests. It operates three venues in Michigan: The Fillmore and Saint Andrew’s Hall/The Shelter in Detroit and GLC Live at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids. Live Nation shows aren’t limited to those venues, so keep an eye on the rules when you buy tickets. AEG Presents, the parent company for the Masonic and the Royal Oak theater, also instituted a new policy for all of its venues nationwide. So far, restaurants haven’t followed suit.

The Magic Bar, which reopened in July 2021 after 16 months of a shutdown, said on its Facebook page that the moves were to “protect staff, the public, and to alleviate anxiety” over the COVID-19 Delta variant “for the time being.” Magic Bag owner Carey Dengha returned to work and to singing with the Mega 80s in July after contracting COVID last spring, the Oakland Press reported. He used his own funds to keep the club afloat while awaiting a federal grant.

Michigan COVID-19 cases continue to rise, as state officials on Friday reported 4,197 cases over the previous two days and a positive test rate of 8.4 percent. Approximately 41 percent of Detroiters had received at least one vaccine dose through August 12, compared to 59.2 percent in the state of Michigan.

Have you seen a change in COVID policies? Do you know of a food-related business requiring vaccinations to enter? Let Eater Detroit know on social media or at detroit@eater.com.

• Marble Bar Will Require Proof of Vaccination or COVID Test for Admission [ED]
• Magic Bag Returns After Pandemic Closure [Oakland Press]