Some bands have withdrawn the wait in recent months to play in front of an audience.
While most of us stayed close to home during the past four-plus months of COVID-19 lockdown – including musicians who had to park the order bus due to room closures – a few acts have dipped their toes back into the world of live achievements.
While experts have predicted that it could take a year, or more, until something resembling a normal tour scenario can run out, that hasn’t stopped a handful of early adopters from venturing out.
The majority of the shows so far that have had live audiences have been of national acts and until now appearing rules of social distance and mask-wearing difficult to enforce at mass gatherings where fans once expected to mingle, dance , singing, shaking and public next to each other pre-pandemic.
Here is a list of some of the shows that have taken place so far.
May 14 – Keith Urban
The country star snuck into an exclusive drive-in concert in Watertown, Tennessee, for health care workers at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in a socially remote setting for about 200 people at the Stardust Drive-in movie theater, with fans enjoying it performance from the comfort of their remote cars.
May 18 – Travis McCready
The lead singer of Mississippi-based country rock bishop Bishop Gunn was widely crowned with breaking the seal on returning from concerts with a socially distant performance at the TempleLive Theater in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The 1,100-capacity location scaled down to 20% for the show, and limited attendance to 229 for the much-discussed show, which totaled $ 3,700.
Fans were required to buy seats in clusters they called “from pods,” with temperatures taken along the way and masks required during the entire show. (The location has upcoming shows on tap, including a sold-out one featuring Parker McCollum – Aug. 29, TechN9ne – Sept. 4 and The Cadillac Three – Sept. 10.)
June 4 – Eli Young Band
The Texas band kicked off the 4-night QuikTrip Concert in Your Car Series in Arlington, Texas, on June 4 with a drive-up show in a socially distant setting outside Globe Live Stadium. The same place holds the following nights also Whiskey Myers, Pat Green and Josh Abbott Band & Kevin Fowler.
June 13 – The Davisson Brothers
The indie band played a drive-in concert in Shinnston, W. Va., At the Sunset Drive-In, where fans were asked to stay in their cars.
June 14 – Collin Raye
Since the beginning of March, the country singer’s twice-postponed performance for the estimated 5,000 audience in Cedar City, Utah, has been paid for as the fist-full production concert in the US, part of a rally staged by the Utah Business Revival , compiled by a local resident in protest of the state’s economic shutdown.
It was forced to relocate twice to local objections, and when it finally came out, famed chef Guy Fieri told the club that it was his most important appearance to date. “This is a celebration of freedom and not living in fear, and moving forward,” he said. Images showed that wearing little social distance as a wear mask.
June 25 – Scott Stapp
The Creed singer was one of the acts who took the stage as part of Sherman, the annual Texas Hot Summer Nights, which also featured Tom Petty cover band Petty Theft as well as performances by Deep Blue Something and the season-ending July 30 performance by Lit.
June 27 – Chase Rice
In keeping with the string of country headliner shows that do not have good social distance, country singer Rice played what turned out to be a regular show at Petros, Tennessee’s Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, which was remodeled several years ago. a prison to a place.
Organizers told Billboard that the capacity of the venue was scaled down from 10,000 to 4,000 for the performance and that, “All local requirements were followed for the recent concert, and various precautionary measures were taken,” noting that there were less than 1,000 people at the concert, and each temperature was checked before they were allowed into the show. Narrators and and staff were “advised” to wear masks and gloves, although they were not mandated.
“I understand that there are a lot of differing opinions, a lot of different opinions about COVID-19, how it works with crowds of live music and what all that looks like,” the country singer said in an Instagram video, two days after the performance placed in the alarm of hindsight. “My biggest thing is y’all. You’re why I write songs, and there’s why I visit the country, why I do live shows and sing these songs for you and you sing them back. You are everything for me, so your safety is a top priority. “
June 27 – Chris Janson
Janson took to the stage at Gordy’s Hwy 30 Music Fest in Filer, Idaho, causing a stir on social media when it was revealed that few fans wore masks as a social distance. The organizer of the three-day festival said the event took all legally required precautionary measures. Working with state and local authorities to ensure COVID-19 pandemic safety guidelines were observed during the festival – one of the first to take place since the country closed in mid-March – founder Gordy Schroeder said all attendees were instructed to use hand sanitizer when entering and were provided with free face masks and gloves (none are required in Floor). There were also hands-on sanitation stations set up across the Twin Falls fairgrounds.
July 25 – The Chainsmokers
The EDM duo played a controversial charity drive-in concert at The Hamptons last month that paid homage to footage from fans who are not socially distant or wearing masks. Admission to the event ranged from $ 1,250- $ 25,000, with proceeds going to local charities to perform at a 100-acre outdoor sculpture park featuring an opening set by Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon (aka DJ D-Sol). Footage of the show drew heavy online backlash, despite promoters’ claims that the event would follow all CDC recommendations, as well as state and local health mandates.
August 9 – Smash Mouth
The “All-Star” pop band was one of the highlights during the first weekend of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s Buffalo Chip concert series. And although the band’s manager said she took all possible precautions to keep the band and crew safe, due to the lack of mandates over social distance or mask-wearing, images from the show show a tightly packed audience with a few masks in evidence.
The 10-day event kicked off Friday with Molly Hatchet, and included The Guess Who on Saturday, Sunday featuring performances by Fozzy and Colt Ford and performances this week by Night Ranger, Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, Buckcherry, Saliva, Drowning Pool, Lit,. 38 Special, Quiet Riot, the Rev. Horton Heat and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
Upcoming social distance performances include a pair of indie stalwarts Dinosaur Jr. on 11 sept. At South Farms in Morris, Connecticut, and Sept. 12 at Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey, New Hampshire. The former will require attendees to be escorted to a “gastroenter” and wear masks upon entering, exiting and traveling at the venue, as well as a health screening and temperature check upon entry, while the latter is a drive-in show with guests limited to the area around her car.
