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 10 people at a time. Concert-goers will also have their temperatures taken at the door and will be required to wear face masks.