WORCESTER - Performance venues across the state are feeling the impact of the pandemic, as non-essential businesses remain closed.

The Palladium in Worcester is one of them. 

General Manager Chris Besaw says the spring is one of their busiest times of the year, and they've had to cancel or postpone more than 30 events. Of their 100 employees, he says they've had to lay off about 95 of them.

Besaw says it's devastating, especially at a time when the venue was doing so well.

Besaw said, "Since we renovated, we really stepped up our booking and the size of the acts we have and the different genres. It was going really well. We were on track to have another great year this year. We had a lot of excellent acts booked."

"Like I said, this is very devastating. But, we will get them back again they'll all come through. Its just a matter of time and getting through this pandemic," Besaw added.

Besaw says they applied to the Paycheck Protection Program [PPP] three weeks ago and have yet to hear back. In the meantime, Besaw said they're rescheduling as many acts as possible.

The Palladium is refunding customers for tickets.