If crowds are fine for election celebrations or postgame football field-storming, why are concerts still kept to minimal crowds or virtual? That’s a question posed on social media by a number of musicians in recent days, following images of large crowds with limited (if any) social distancing in place across the country despite the ongoing spike in COVID cases being experienced in nearly every state.
“THE HYPOCRISY IS UNREAL,” read a post from Morgan Wallen following images of a huge crowd gathered outside the White House celebrating the announcement of Joe Biden’s projected victory in Pennsylvania (and therefore the election as a whole) Saturday afternoon. “If you don’t agree with me, fine. We can still be friends. But I have a family, band, and crew that need to be provided for and taken care of. If it’s OK for us to party in the streets with no “social distancing” then we can book shows right now.”
With many states and countries continuing to dramatically limit crowd sizes allowed due to COVID, it has been a frustrating year for performers across the globe. While some have been able to successfully market virtual gigs for paying audiences, the shutdown of venues has impacted the livelihood of countless musicians and likely will continue to do so well into 2021.
Chase Rice, who faced intense backlash earlier this year for performing in front of a crowd with limited social distancing, also chimed in with a post featuring an image of the Notre Dame students who stormed the turf following the team’s victory over Clemson in OT Saturday – which also showed no regard for social distancing. “Great news y’all,” reads the text imposed over the photo. “Concerts are comin back.”
“This can happen, yet we can’t have concerts…,” said Chris Lane in another post showing the Notre Dame crowd on the field. “People are partying in the streets everywhere in this country yet we can’t have concerts… brutal.”
Images compiled by CMT.com:
With positive news regarding vaccine trials Monday morning and a recent study that showed indoor concerts can be safe if proper protocols are in place for fans, there is hope for musicians that 2021 will be a much better year in terms of the ability to get back on stages across the globe. But for now, the images coming from across the country of crowds popping up has been clearly frustrating for many performers hoping to get back to earning their livelihood and engaging with fans.
