Coming live to Arkansas: Virus guidelines in concert

A small concert in Fort Smith, Arkansas, with a relatively unknown artist performing in a venue that will be 80% empty is drawing international attention amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The concert Friday stars Travis McCready, the frontman for the country-rock outfit Bishop Gunn, but the main attraction for many — especially those in the music industry — will be seeing how this pioneering social distancing concert goes and whether it can be used as a template for holding concerts across the country in the COVID-19 age.

The show will be very different from what music fans are used to, as the promoters are implementing strict rules to try to ensure proper social distancing.

To start, Fort Smith’s TempleLive, a venue that can hold up to 1,100 people, will have its capacity cut by 80%. Only 229 fans will be allowed into the building.

And general mingling will be a definite no-no, as the concertgoers will be separated into small groups — what organizers are calling “fan pods” — to further help with social distancing.

Here are other safety precautions being implemented for the concert, as outlined on the Ticketmaster web page for the event:

The balcony will be accessible only by stairs, not by elevator.

The venue will be sanitized by an independent third party before the concert via fog sprayers.

Masks will be required for concertgoers and employees.

Those arriving without masks will be able to buy them at the venue.

The theater will use one-way walkways, as per CDC guidelines, which will be supervised by TempleLive employees.

The “fan pods,” i.e. groups, must be separated by at least 6 feet at all times.

There is a 10-person limit in the restrooms, which will use no-touch soap/towel dispensers. Some “bathroom fixtures” will be closed to help ensure proper social distancing.

Concertgoers’ temperatures will be taken at entry points.

Only prepackaged beverages — or ones with lids — will be served.

TempleLive staff will be wiping down “touch points.”

It sounds like an intimidating, lengthy and arduous process. But that could be the kind of concert experience that awaits music lovers from coast to coast until pandemic conditions drastically change.

So, people will be paying close attention to this concert — that is, of course, if it ends up happening.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said the concert is a “violation of state guidelines for reopening indoor venues and has not been approved,” according to ABC affiliate KATV in Arkansas. The show is set to happen three days before May 18, the reopening date announced by Hutchinson for large indoor venues.

So far, TempleLive officials are sticking to Friday’s concert date, KATV reports.

PHOTO BY DAVID BRENDAN HALL The tight-fitting masks worn by Coachella-goers in years past to ward off desert dust may become part of the attire for concertgoers everywhere to ward off the coronavirus.