In case you’ve been living under a rock, Pfizer announced today that the early data on their new COVID-19 vaccine revealed a 90% effectiveness rate during their initial trials. There are still a million other questions, but for right now, let’s call it a step in the right direction.
Upon hearing the news, Maren Morris shared the following Instagram story with the caption:
“90% effective COVID vaccine? OMG do we get to tour again soon?
Of course this news also comes on the heels of several country music stars openly voicing their frustration with the large crowds that were gathering over the weekend. Between the political rallies, the Biden/Harris celebrations, the fans rushing the field at Notre Dame, and even the fact that a college football stadium will host 10,000 fans right now… it all left artists wondering why the hell they can’t book shows?
Morgan Wallen called the “hypocrisy unreal,” Brian Kelley said “knew we were waiting on the election” and RaeLynn echoed Chris Lane’s sentiments, calling it “brutal.”
Scotty McCreery, Josh Abbott, Michael Ray, Chase Rice, the Aldeans and more, all shared similar outrage and there is no doubt that many more in the industry feel the same way.
We all want live music back. Artists, bands, crews, venues… everybody counts on live shows to put food on the table. Fans want to go to shows again too. It shouldn’t surprise you that these artists are pissed off at the sight of large crowds right now, but maybe opening everything back up and booking shows isn’t the right answer either. After all, Tyler Hubbard, Lee Brice and Pat Green have all tested positively recently.
Is there a middle ground? Who knows? Probably, but at the end of the day, if this was an easy situation, we would’ve figured it out by now.
