The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Who canceled: A look at the concerts, events on hold
Tours, awards shows, conventions and festivals on Thursday announced cancellations and postponements at a rapid clip, with concert tours being postponed, movie releases shifting and Broadway going dark.
Here’s a look at some of the ways the entertainment industry reacted to the spread of the coronavirus, which most people recover from but can cause severe illness in the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Music muted
Rock band The Who postponed their UK and Ireland tour that was scheduled to start Monday and run through April 8. Grammywinning country duo Dan + Shay rescheduled the spring leg of their US arena tour, after they said some of their concerts were being forced to mandatorily postpone.
“We want the shows to be memorable, and not experienced with fear,” the “10,000 Hours” singers said in a statement Thursday.
Blake Shelton postponed the last two weeks of his Friends and Heroes tour, and Billy Joel also postponed two shows in March and April for later this year.
“I won’t take chances with the ones I love,” Kenny Chesney said in a statement announcing postponement dates on his upcoming tour spanning from mid-April through the end of May.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame postponed its induction ceremony, which was to feature commemorations of the late artists Whitney Houston and The Notorious B.I.G., as well as performances honoring Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Nine Inch Nails and T-Rex.
The city of Houston ordered the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a major concert series in Texas, to close early, canceling upcoming shows by Lizzo, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban. This year’s attendance varied from 50,000 to 70,000 people per concert.
Hold the applause
The television industry continued to forgo audiences and large gatherings for its shows and events, with the audience-participation heavy “The Price Is Right” suspending production altogether.
Comedy Central’s “Lights Out With David Spade” and “Tosh.0,” will both tape without crowds beginning Monday, and Pop TV’s sitcom “One Day at a Time” has been taping without a studio audience since Tuesday.
Several broadcasters at the so-called “upfronts” — at which networks unveil their fall schedules to sell advance commercial time to advertisers — will not feature massive in-person presentations.
NBCUniversal, Fox and ViacomCBS said Thursday that their presentations long held in New York City theaters such as Carnegie Hall will be replaced by online specials and information for the advertising community.