Article: How Live Concerts Are Coming Back This Fall by Jon Freeman and Amy Wang for Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone article, “How Live Concerts Are Coming Back This Fall,” details the early stages of reopening venues and finding ways to allow access to artists during such an unsure time. Many venues are not just trying to find ways around Covid regulations; these venues are doing as much as they can to ensure the safety of the audience, artist, and crew. Cain’s Ballroom is Tulsa, Oklahoma reopened on August 8th, running at just 1/6 of their capacity. Guests were required to wear masks at all times and were seated at bistro tables that were socially distanced. Other venues have taken even more extreme measures, such as Billy Bob’s in Texas, which utilized thermal cameras to regulate the temperatures of arriving guests. People will always want to experience live music and promoters and venues are finding ways to enhance the concert going experience while keeping everyone safe.
Limited capacity, removal of high-contact areas, temperature checks, and masks are all important and require the audience to adhere to the new regulations, with many venues hiring people specifically to ensure the safest environment possible. I think that the key to bringing back concerts are outdoor venues and the cooperation of audiences. Rolling Stone says that many audiences have been generally compliant, but it is important that the artist encourages the audiences to stay distanced and to promote public health. Audiences must follow these regulations in order to prevent further closing and cancellations. Outdoor venues also allow for concertgoers to stay safe and enjoy music. Open-air events are significantly safer to hold and many promoters are taking advantage of that. The music industry must rely on the compliance of all participants; audiences, artists, crew, et cetera all need to embrace the new precautions to ensure the further opening of venues around the world.
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