How Drive-In's Are the Future For Live Concerts in 2020

If you’re anything like me, you can’t wait until artists receive the go-ahead to begin scheduling and performing live shows again. This summer looks drastically different with the absence of so many music festivals! While some artists have concert dates tentatively set for the month of October, the majority have postponed their tours until Summer 2021. 

Drive-in’s have resurfaced! A handful of artists have been testing the waters of drive-in concerts, which is exactly what it sounds like! Fans watch and listen to the performance from the comfort of the car. Keith Urban performed a secret drive-in concert outside of Nashville for 200 healthcare workers. Alan Jackson will be performing a drive-in concert in Cullman, Alabama on June 5th and June 6th. Each show will hold approximately 2,000 vehicles. The Texas Rangers will be hosting artists like the Eli Young Band and Whiskey Meyers from their parking lot in Arlington, TX. Tom Lee, Live Nation’s President of U.S. venues says, “This is not a long play, by any stretch of the imagination. But you’ve got a pent up fan that really wants to go out and have a good time. It’s a concert you never forget.” 

In an attempt to save the entertainment and concert business, Live Nation is planning to expand drive-in shows to 50 amphitheaters this summer. Promoters are hoping that these events will be a financial solution for artists and their team. While the profit margin is much slimmer, this is a temporary way for musicians and fans to continue engaging. 

I know you’re wondering when actual concerts will begin though, right? According to Travis Rider, a scholar at John Hopkins, “There’s serious doubt among some insiders that live music will fully return before 2021. A shortage of tests and the lack of a vaccine simply make things too risky. The risk of those events as we would have done them in the past outweighs the benefit of doing them. We are flexible creatures. We're going to have to do things differently. We can find ways to do the things we love.”