State officials called on the federal government for help keeping performers and their businesses afloat amid the pandemic, but local musicians say they also need the help.
Performers like Mike DelGuidice haven't been able to perform on stage for an audience for months.
"Musicians have been shut out, we're not allowed to work,” he says.
Musicians can play at some businesses that are open says DelGuidice, but they can't sell tickets or advertise their performances.
He's pleading for the State Liquor Authority to change the law and let music stars rock out again.
Sen. Charles Schumer announced Sunday that he's fighting to help music venues, like the Paramount in Huntington.
"The live venues throughout New York that provide space for music, for art, for comedy, and for New Yorkers to gather," says Sen. Schumer. "They are the lifeblood of New York and they are dying, and we are here to try and save them."
Sen. Schumer was joined by Jerry Seinfeld, the legendary comedian, who hails from Massapequa.
"When you come into Manhattan as a performer and you stand in front of New York audiences, you find out if you're good enough to actually have a career in the arts," Seinfeld says.
DelGuidice says the "Save Our Stages Act" would help, but it's not enough.
"If a venue can now stay open and keep its lights on for another year and not have to stay open and be at low capacity, what happens to the musicians? We're the ones left out to dry," he says.
DelGuidice says he hopes the SLA changes the rules before musicians start leaving the industry.
The $10 billion Save Our Stages bill would give venues a grant of up to $12 million each for six months to help them stay open.