Travis McCready to hold concert in Arkansas as lockdown eases, seats will be in 'fan pods' six feet apart
As many will know, the spread of the coronavirus and the lockdown orders have hit the music industry in ways we probably wouldn't have predicted in our lifetimes, with a growing list of music venues closing up shop this 2020. Several protests have arisen in the US to lift the quarantine orders and, amidst, has probably gotten people thinking of alternative ways to keep their businesses running.
Most likely to be the first venue to hold a live concert performed to an audience in the US, TempleLive in Fort Smith Arkansas has announced that they are opening on May 15 with a gig from Travis McCready of rock band Bishop Gunn.
Originally called The Masonic Temple Building, the venue serves as a dual-use facility. It is leased by Paramount and serves as a movie palace while the remainder of the building provides office space, classrooms and supported ceremonial activities for Masonic lodges throughout Western Arkansas, according to their official site. TempleLive is approximately 53,000 square feet in size and is comprised of four stories.
TempleLive has a 1,100-person capacity but has been reduced to 229 seats, according to Pitchfork. The seats will be separated into "fan pods", which are rows of 2-12 tickets sold in groups at least six feet apart in order to isolate people into separate groups.
Certain measures are being taken at the event which includes the mandatory checkup of every attendee's temperature at entry, every attendee will have to wear face masks, which are also being sold at the event and bathrooms will have a limit of up to 10 persons.
According to a report shared by Arkansas Online, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson issued a directive on that limits the size of audiences at venues to 50 people, allowing outdoor venues to reopen on May 17 and indoor venues the following day. TempleLive appears to be cutting it fine as the McCready show in Fort Smith begins a few days before the reopening dates.
Missouri became the first state in the US to reopen live events during the Covid-19 pandemic on May 4, although the mayors of Missouri’s major cities St. Louis, Springfield, and Kansas City declared that the cities’ quarantine orders will remain.
Read the list of major tour cancellations/postponements over the next few months here.
