As thousands of music lovers flocked to Grant Park for the first day of Lollapalooza, a surge of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Chicago and the suburbs prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reimpose a mask mandate in state facilities for everyone, regardless of their vaccination status.

A recent bungled federal aid rollout worth 16 billion dollars for music venues and theaters across the country is adding more strain to a stressful situation.

Late last month, Congress allocated $15 billion to music venues, movie theaters and other cultural institutions under the Save Our Stages Act. What it could mean for Chicago’s independent music and performing arts venues.