Thousands of people turned up to a concert headlined by Smash Mouth in South Dakota on Sunday night amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The 90s pop-rockers and their fans at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally didn’t seem worried about gathering together during the viral outbreak that’s killed at least 160,000 Americans.
“We’re all here together tonight! F–k that COVID shit!” front-man Steve Harwell said on stage, earning cheers from the crowd.
The iconic 10-day festival was expected to attract some 250,000 motorcycle enthusiasts, scaled down from about half-a-million people who attended in previous years, according to USA Today.
Festival goers didn’t have to face many of the social distancing restrictions common elsewhere in the country, the newspaper reported. For example, those who traveled in from a virus hotspot for the event were not required to quarantine.
And while organizers encouraged the use of masks or face coverings, they were not required.
Footage from the festival’s Buffalo Chip concert series, where Smash Mouth performed performed, showed mask-less crowds packed together in front of the stage.
But the “All Star” band maintained it felt safe and took all safety precautions possible ahead of the event.
“Everything backstage was sanitized, etc. The band has their own Covid addendum to their rider as well and the promoter and venue adhered to all of our requests,” band manager Robert Hayes told Billboard in an email.
“We spent endless hours advancing this event to make sure that it was pulled off as safely as possible and we are very happy with the outcome.”
The performers said they didn’t have any control over what safety measures attendees followed, but claimed most of them were on their motorcycles “which eliminated a lot of physical contact between attendees and actually created a forced social distance.”
“The Smash Mouth organization is taking this pandemic very seriously and has taken measures to keep our band, crew and fans as safe as possible during this time,” Hayes said.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost...th-plays-to-thousands-of-bikers-at-rally/amp/
The 90s pop-rockers and their fans at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally didn’t seem worried about gathering together during the viral outbreak that’s killed at least 160,000 Americans.
“We’re all here together tonight! F–k that COVID shit!” front-man Steve Harwell said on stage, earning cheers from the crowd.
The iconic 10-day festival was expected to attract some 250,000 motorcycle enthusiasts, scaled down from about half-a-million people who attended in previous years, according to USA Today.
Festival goers didn’t have to face many of the social distancing restrictions common elsewhere in the country, the newspaper reported. For example, those who traveled in from a virus hotspot for the event were not required to quarantine.
And while organizers encouraged the use of masks or face coverings, they were not required.
Footage from the festival’s Buffalo Chip concert series, where Smash Mouth performed performed, showed mask-less crowds packed together in front of the stage.
But the “All Star” band maintained it felt safe and took all safety precautions possible ahead of the event.
“Everything backstage was sanitized, etc. The band has their own Covid addendum to their rider as well and the promoter and venue adhered to all of our requests,” band manager Robert Hayes told Billboard in an email.
“We spent endless hours advancing this event to make sure that it was pulled off as safely as possible and we are very happy with the outcome.”
The performers said they didn’t have any control over what safety measures attendees followed, but claimed most of them were on their motorcycles “which eliminated a lot of physical contact between attendees and actually created a forced social distance.”
“The Smash Mouth organization is taking this pandemic very seriously and has taken measures to keep our band, crew and fans as safe as possible during this time,” Hayes said.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost...th-plays-to-thousands-of-bikers-at-rally/amp/
