Live music after Las Vegas

Until last weekend, the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival was a regional concert event whose patrons’ biggest frustration was lack of parking. But now, the festival, which spans two weekends and is expected to draw 450,000 people, is the first test of public safety at a major outdoor music event since a gunman massacred 58 people and wounded hundreds more at a concert in Las Vegas Sunday night.

“I think when you see an event that happens like the one in Las Vegas … it reaffirms all the work that you do, all the planning that’s been done, all the preparation that we have been through,” Austin, Texas, Mayor Steve Adler said at a news conference. Before the Las Vegas shooting, the festival had already tightened restrictions on bags and banned umbrellas, inflatable furniture, and electronic cigarettes. Brian Manley, Austin interim police chief, said his department had assessed areas with high vantage points near the festival’s location and would be watching for threats there.

Those measures seemed to satisfy many of the concertgoers planning to attend the event in Austin’s Zilker Park. Festival organizers said they would issue refunds for anyone who felt unsafe after what happened in Las Vegas, but as of Tuesday morning, only two people had taken advantage of the offer, according to Austin360. Brandon Durrett of San Antonio, Texas, and his wife planned months ago to take their three kids, ages 4 through 10, to the festival Friday to hear Vulfpeck, an instrumental funk band the whole family loves.

“It’s not changing our plans or anything,” Durrett said. “It’s something we have to think about, but don’t let the terrorists win.”

In the age of Islamic State (ISIS), attacks against so-called “soft targets,” or public gathering places, are on the rise. So far, authorities don’t think Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock was affiliated with any terror group. But recent history has shown that successful attacks can come in clusters, such as the spate of vehicle-rammings in Europe in past two years.

At the same time, though, the global concert business is booming. Billboard reported that concert attendance and revenue increased by 30 percent worldwide in 2016. In the age of streaming music, live performances are the bread and butter of the music industry, and artists and promoters are giving it all they’ve got.

“Live music continues to be the engine driving the business, across all genres, demos, and venues,” Rob Light, managing partner for Creative Artists Agency, told Billboard.

Chris Robinette, CEO of the security firm Prevent Advisors, put it this way: Concerts are here to stay, but so is the threat of a large-scale attack.

“We don’t anticipate that you’re going to see fewer concerts,” Robinette told Variety this week. “Entertainment and concerts and these experiences that define our lives are things we’re trying to preserve and protect. This is a known risk that we need to mitigate, and it’s going to be challenging.”

Tom Petty performing with the Heartbreakers in Pasadena, Calif., in late June

American soundtrack

In his last interview before he died unexpectedly from cardiac arrest, Tom Petty described his devotion to music not just as an artist, but also as a listener. He told the Los Angeles Times’ Randy Lewis, “I always listen. I could come home and I would spend the rest of the night just lying on the floor or the sofa listening to albums.”

Maybe the fact he loved music so much helped him make music so many others could love. Petty’s song archive became a soundtrack to American life because it captured real emotions without sensationalizing them. “‘Won’t Back Down’ from what?” many have asked about his 1989 single. Petty never said, and he didn’t have to because in their own ways and for different reasons, his listeners had all felt that same feeling before. (Desiring God’s David Mathis argued that “I Won’t Back Down” could be an anthem for Christian resistance. Why not?)

Petty told Lewis he considered his band the Heartbreakers and its work “holy” because they strived for “something greater” than commercial success. Since Bible times, people have mistaken things that merely reflect the glory of God—the beauty of nature, the cadence of a song, the shimmer of a precious metal—for God itself. Petty’s talent for rock music was God-given, whether or not he acknowledged it, but it’s no substitute for the real rock of ages. —L.L

Tom Petty performing with the Heartbreakers in Pasadena, Calif., in late June

In service to the crown

Christian composers Keith and Kristyn Getty recently celebrated honors they received from the British crown for their contributions to music and hymnwriting. Queen Elizabeth II named Keith Getty an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in June, and the Gettys were honored in mid-September at an event in the Chapel of St. Mary Undercroft in London’s Palace of Westminster. “Obviously to receive the OBE has been a great honor, but to sing hymns in as intimate and prestigious a venue as the Chapel of St. Mary Undercroft is one of those moments neither Kristyn nor I will ever forget,” Keith Getty said. He is the first contemporary Christian musician to receive the OBE. The Gettys have composed numerous well-known modern hymns, including “In Christ Alone,” which Keith Getty co-wrote with Stuart Townend. —L.L.

Tom Petty performing with the Heartbreakers in Pasadena, Calif., in late June

Hollywood scandal

Harvey Weinstein is taking a leave of absence from his film production work after a New York Times report accused him of habitual sexual harassment over several decades as the head of Miramax and the Weinstein Company. Two company officials told the Times at least eight women received settlements from Weinstein over the years. Weinstein’s attorney Charles Harder said the Hollywood executive plans to sue the Times for defamation. —L.L

Binge-watching will cost a buck more

Netflix plans to raise rates by $1 for many of its customers in the next month. —L.L

Gospel minute

On the Sept. 25 episode of The Voice, Jennifer Hudson and contestant Lucas Holiday broke into a brief, spontaneous duet of “God Is Able” that brought down the house and surely resounded in Heaven, too. —L.L