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Travis McCready to Play First Socially-Distanced Concert in Arkansas

Travis McCready
MILAN, ITALY - MARCH 08: Travis McCready of Bishop Gunn opens for Slash of Slash feat. Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators at Fabrique Club on March 8, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Travis McCready

It looks like Missouri isn’t the only state ready to reopen its concert business.

Neighboring Arkansas will join the Show-Me State in allowing live music to resume. On Monday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that live music venues could reopen on May 18.

Travis McCready, the singer of the country-rock band Bishop Gunn, will be performing at what’s billed as an “intimate acoustic set” in Fort Smith at the city’s TempleLive venue — but with social distancing measures in place. The show will take place on May 15, three days before the scheduled reopening.

According to Billboard, assigned seats for the show will be at least six feet apart per grouping in what Ticketmaster is calling “fan pods.” As fans enter the venue, they’ll be required to wear face masks (including the venue’s employees), have their temperatures taken at the door  and capacity for the 1,100 person venue will be capped at 229.

Per Ticketmaster, here are the restrictions:

Masks will be available for purchase. Per CDC guidelines on walk-ways in theater managed by TL Employees. 6 feet of separation from all seating groups or fan pods. 10 person limit in all restrooms. All soap and paper towel dispensers will be no touch. Closure of bathroom fixtures to maintain 6 feet of distance during use. Temperatures of attendees to be taken at entry points. All beverages will be prepackaged or have lids. TL employees will be actively wiping down touch points in venue and restrooms.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out and how it will impact concerts for the rest of the year. TempleLive’s next show will likely be Ronnie Milsap’s performance scheduled for Aug. 22.

SPIN reached out to TempleLive for comment on how it was able to open ahead of Gov. Hutchinson’s proposed open date.

If you’re curious as to how the seating will work, check it out here.