Seeing Shows Safely During COVID-19
Let’s be honest: COVID-19 has been a real bitch.
We’ve all slid into our new reality of mask wearing, social distancing, and attending virtual work meetings sans pants.
But there are some things still worth putting on pants for, including the Huntsville live music scene in Huntsville, Alabama.
Going to shows may look a little different these days – think plexiglass dividers between artists and audiences, pre-booked tables set six feet away, and a lot of elbow-fives instead of hugs – but it’s still well worth coming out to see the crop of rich local talent our city has to offer.
So how can you hear live music while still being responsible and staying safe?
Venues are taking steps to ensure everyone stays happy and healthy, but there are things you can do, too.
If you’re going to a music venue, check first to see what precautions they’re taking. Here are just a few things happening around town to keep everyone safe.
Several Huntsville live music venues, like Mars Music Hall and Sidetracks Music Hall, are adhering to by-table seating, meaning that you and your group can buy tickets and remain at least six feet away from other show-goers.
Smaller, open-air venues like Yellowhammer Brewing are incorporating plexiglass dividers between the artists and the audience to ensure health and safety for all involved.
And some venues, like Green Bus Brewing, are encouraging listeners to bring their own chairs and camp out at socially-distant intervals outside in the open air.
Ally Free at Green Bus Brewing
You can see Ally Free play at multiple Huntsville venues – See her upcoming shows
While the best way to keep safe and healthy is to isolate as much as possible, there are steps you can take when going out to be respectful of your health and the health of others.
Here are some things you can do to ensure you keep yourself and everyone around you safe and healthy while still enjoying live music.
- Mask up! At HuntsvilleMusic.com, we are big fans of the mask – in no small part because every time Tom puts his on, he says he feels like an old-timey bank robber. If you’re in need of a mask to show your local pride, we recommend these “Keep Your Space, Huntsville” masks from our friends at the CVB.
- Hand sanitizer. It’s a good rule of thumb to keep a personal-sized bottle of hand sanitizer on your person anyway, but doubly so when you’re going out and about. Keep some on hand (get it) and sanitize often to ensure you keep yourself and others safe.
- Stay six feet apart. Temporarily gone are the days when you go to a packed-out show and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, lightly sweating on each other as you belt out the lyrics. For some of us, this may be a good thing – you now have a built-in excuse to avoid the claustrophobia of a tight venue! Avoid spaces where you can’t have space, and always practice safe social distancing.
- Take advantage of table seating. In a similar vein, many venues are offering ticketed tables to enforce social distancing. We mentioned above that Mars Music Hall and Sidetracks are among those venues, and their practice is to sell tickets in blocks of tables to keep show-goers isolated as much as possible.
And, as always, if you aren’t feeling well, have a fever, or are showing symptoms of illness, just stay home. Live music is awesome and at HuntsvilleMusic.com, we’re all about encouraging everyone to come out and support – but never at the expense of their health or the health of others.
For now, practice safe sound, Huntsville. Mask up, sanitize, keep your distance, and rock on.
Grace is the Content Director of HuntsvilleMusic.com and lives in Madison, AL, which really isn’t that far, guys.
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