CNY bluesman and musical mentor's death from Covid-19 brings grief - and a warning

[ARPad95]

https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/12/cny-bluesman-and-musical-mentors-death-from-covid-19-brings-grief-and-a-warning.html

Gibson, who worked in music shops and sang and played the blues across Central New York for 40 years, died Tuesday of the coronavirus. He was 69. He was one of more than 27 people who died from the virus since Dec. 1 in Onondaga County and 270 who died here since the pandemic began.

The virus has forced thousands to make choices between what they love and what will keep them safe. Gibson’s choice led to his death, his family said.

It’s hard to separate Gibson from the music; they were always together. So it was a struggle when the pandemic came and the bar stages that were home to him and so many others went dark.

Gibson still played and watched where and when he could, friends and family said. Sometimes, it was safe. Other times, it was not, said his son, Mike Gibson, who fronts his own band, “The Action!”

The last gig Mark Gibson played is the one that killed him, his son said. It was the Friday before Thanksgiving at a bar that was not following the state’s restrictions.

Mike Gibson does not want his dad’s choice to overshadow his legacy, but he wants other musicians to know the risk.

Mike Gibson and his sister, Katharine Gibson, asked their dad not to play. The bar was too small. It wouldn’t be safe. It was against the rules. But Mark Gibson wasn’t worried, his son said. He wanted to play. Maybe, he needed to play.

“I think it is important to know that he should not have been playing. I think it’s important that other musicians who are doing this know that it’s the cost. This why the restrictions are in place,” Mike Gibson said.

Mark Gibson became ill shortly after, along with others who played the gig outside Onondaga County. He was hospitalized Nov. 29.

Full article at link above.