socially distant concert Archives

A new era of live music kicked off in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on Monday, May 18. The crowd was ready, the artists were thrilled, but no one could ignore the elephant in the room.

Everyone asking when America would see live music return caught a glimpse of what the immediate future holds Monday night, May 18, when Bishop Gunn frontman Travis McCready hit the stage at TempleLive in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Hailed as the first “socially distant” concert, the performance welcomed a tiny crowd into a massive space with new rules put in place to keep everyone safe from COVID-19.

The capacity for the TempleLive performance was 229, a fraction of the venue’s standard 1000. Though its unclear how many tickets were sold, photos and videos of the event reveal people scattered throughout the site in what Ticketmaster is calling “fan pods.” The concept, which is likely to gain popularity in the months ahead, allows consumers to purchase enough tickets to sit with friends without allowing other attendees to sit too close.

Other new ideas implemented for the event included temperature checks for all attendees, limits on bathroom occupancy, and the placement of twenty-five sanitation stations throughout the venue.

In our latest Music Biz News update, host James Shotwell takes us inside TempleLive in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to learn how the event came together, what it looked like, and we may lie ahead for the future of live music.

Until there is a vaccine for coronavirus that is widely available to the general public we will likely see more “socially distant” concerts taking place. Whether or not they look like this event is anybody’s guess. Hosting live music in the age of COVID is an experiment, and anyone attending is a test subject. Rules and regulations will shift as needed to ensure the safety and comfort of the crowd. If that doesn’t feel safe to you, go ahead and stay home. Music is resilient. The concerts you dream of will inevitably return. We’re just not sure when that will happen.

Arkansas’ Governor has issued a cease and desist order against TempleLive for their plans to host America’s first “socially distant” concert later this week.

Music publications around the world have spent the better part of two weeks covering an upcoming May 15 performance from Travis McCready. The Bishop Gunn frontman was set to headline the first “socially distant” concert in the United States at TempleLive, which was also going to serve as a testing ground for live music in the age of COVID-19. However, a last-minute intervention from the state’s governor has canceled the event.

Arkansas, like most US states, is still working to slow the spread of coronavirus through a statewide lockdown. The current restrictions on public activities expire May 18, which is three days after the McCready concert was set to happen. The staff at TempleLive was making efforts to make the show as safe as possible, including cutting capacity from 1800 to just 229. Still, Governor Hutchinson decided this week those efforts were not enough.

*The proposed seating chart for the first “socially distant” concert, which was canceled earlier this week.*

“You can’t just arbitrarily determine when the restrictions are lifted. That is something that is done based on a public health requirement,” said Hutchinson at a news conference, citing guidelines for venues that stipulated events of 50 people or more must be operating at less than 34 percent capacity and must have plans approved by the Department of Health. He added, “Clearly, it is three days before we determined it was an appropriate time to open up to a limited capacity in some of those informal venues, and even if you’re going to have 250 people at a venue, you still have to have a specific plan that would be approved by the Department of Health. None of that was done in this case.”

It’s surprising to see the decision to cancel the event happen so close to the show date. After all, the media has been covering the concert since early May. Those in a position to deny the event have no doubt been aware of its existence as long as the rest of us, if not longer.

TempleLive has not announced any additional concerts at this time, but the news of this cancelation is yet another example of our ‘new normal.’ As we covered in this week’s Music Biz 101, the live music business is going to be experimenting with events for the foreseeable future. Shows will happen, but what they look like, how they operate, and how often they occur will change frequently. Some states may allow concerts for a short while only to ban them again as COVID-19 infection rates vary. For now, the best thing any of us can do is be patient. Live music isn’t going away forever. We will sing and dance together again.