Concert lovers got a lot of encouraging news this week with several music festivals dropping lineups for later this summer but with all the optimism also comes a heavy dose of confusion.
Here's what is currently known about the whens and hows of going to live shows in the near future.
● When Can I Go To A Concert? How long you wait is up to where you live. Florida and Texas have already allowed concerts to resume but more restrictive states like New York and California are still taking things slow with outdoor concerts and keeping capacity capped at 25%.
● Does That Mean My Favorite Big Artist Could Still Play This Year? You might be fine with paying a bit more to sit in a crowd of just 20% but most acts need more. Tour manager Christian Coffey works with the likes of A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels and says “there’s just not enough money at 20% to sustain a touring band and their crew.” According to Coffey, most artists need somewhere between 70% to 80% capacity just to break even.
● When Will Shows Reach 100% Capacity Again? National Independent Talent Organization’s Nadia Prescher says things will pick up when cities have 70% to 80% of their citizens vaccinated and at least 70% of U.S. cities must have reached this goal. As of mid-March, the United States was vaccinating about 2.5 million Americans per day and at that pace, we’d hit those vaccination goals at the end of the year.
● Will I Still Have To Wear A Mask? Most public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said vaccinated folks will still be required to wear masks in public buildings at least through the rest of 2021 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants. In other words, almost definitely.
Check out more answers to your burning concert questions HERE.