The Sturgis motorcycle rally went on Monday for its fourth day after a raging concert on Sunday night, in which concerns about coronavirus were laughed at by the lead singer and maskless masses.
Steve Harwell, the 53-year-old frontman of California rockers Smash Mouth, opened his set of the band with a rant caught on video against the virus, which has killed more than 160,000 U.S. citizens.
“F *** that COVID s ***!” he roared, to raging applause.
Experts have warned that the rally, which is expected to bring 250,000 people to the city of 7,000, had the potential to become a ‘super spreader event’.
Smash Mouth’s lead singer Steve Harwell told the crowd at Sturgis ‘F *** this COVID s ***’
The Buffalo Chip campground, where the performance was held, saw a pair of face masks
Thousands packed into the arena to watch California rockers Smash Mouth on Sunday
South Dakota has so far been relatively spared by the pandemic.
As of Monday evening, there were 146 deaths and 9,500 cases, with 59 cases confirmed in the last 24 hours.
The Buffalo Chip, a campground that hosted many of the cyclists’ host and concerts, was reportedly at half capacity, but many of those present did not wear face masks.
However, the manager of Smash Mouth praised the organizers for the work done beforehand, saying that the band members were confident in their own safety and that of their crew.
“The promoter did a fantastic job with their COVID protocol,” said Robert Hayes.
He told Billboard: ‘They had a very strict social distancing and masking policy for all workers.
‘Everything behind the scenes was sanitized, etc.
‘The band also has their own COVID addendum to their rider and the promoter and location followed them to all of our requests.
“We have spent endless hours on this incident to make sure it was removed as safely as possible and we are very pleased with the outcome.”
An estimated 250,000 cyclists are from Sturgis, South Dakota descended for the rally
Motorcycles are parked at the Buffalo Chip during the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Hayes said Smash Mouth felt very good off stage.
Like the artists, he said they had no control over what protocols the attendees followed.
‘That said, most were all on their motorcycles, which eliminated a lot of physical contact between attendees and actually created a forced social distance,’ he said.
“The organization Smash Mouth takes this pandemic very seriously and has taken steps to keep our band, crew and fans as safe as possible during this time.”
On Saturday night, a ZZ Top tribute band played against packed, maskless crowds.
Willie Nelson and Lynyrd Skynyrd were due to play, but pulled out due to the pandemic.
At Monday’s press conference, Geody VanDewater, Sturgis’ police officer, said his department had 65 fewer calls than last year, but there were more drug arrests and accidents with non-injuries.
The Department of Public Safety reported that police made 84 arrests for driving under the influence or drug-related crimes in a 24-hour period, from Saturday to Sunday morning.
That happened from last year, when 76 people were arrested in a similar time frame.
On Sunday, the Full Throttle Saloon drew hundreds of music lovers to hear a ZZ Top tribute
Crowds, again not wearing face masks, grabbed them in the music room
Police have also issued more citations, with 226 people receiving cards.
The figure is 37 more than last year. But it seems that police are less linear this year and leave fewer people with warnings.
So far, police in the region have reported 18 accidents, which is down from last year’s mark of 20. None are fatal.
“Overall, it’s a typical rally similar to last year,” he said.
Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin said he has seen an increase in arrests for drug and DUI violations at the county county.
He also said that it appears that there are fewer people running in Sturgis in the city center and spending more time outside the city limits.
Daniel Ainslie, manager of Sturgis City, told Rapid City Journal that the city expects fewer rally-goers this year because of COVID-19.
‘Months ago, we stopped all advertising and promotion of the event. We have also canceled all our city activities and everything else in the hope of increasing the numbers, ‘he said.
‘The number of first-time visitors has been really enormous, and it’s interesting people who say they’ve been working together for months and they’ll come out here.’
Ainslie also said that consumer spending ‘has been unbelievably high’.
“Expenditures are much higher than what we have seen in recent years, especially considering the numbers are somewhat lower than we have seen in the last few years,” he said.
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