In news that doesn’t make sense the more you think about it, Arkansas concert venue TempleLive announced that country-rock singer Travis McCready, of the band Bishop Gunn, will perform an “intimate acoustic set†on May 15, but with social-distancing measures in place. This would make the event the first concert performed to a live audience in the U.S. since the spread of COVID-19. The news comes after Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson announced that Arkansas theaters and lecture halls will reopen on May 18, but only for audiences of 50 people maximum at a time.
As to how McCready will perform an “intimate acoustic set†while maintaining social distance, TempleLive says that they will reduce the venue’s 1,100-person capacity to 229 seats, despite Hutchinson’s 50-people-maximum directive. Additionally, TempleLive will host the concert three days before Arkansas officially reopens concert venues throughout the state. Ticketmaster will sell “fan pods,†with assigned seats of 2-12 people set six feet apart, and bathrooms will be capped at ten people at a time. Concertgoers will also have their temperatures taken at the door and will be required to wear face masks.