FEATURE:
Through the Windshield
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Are Drive-In Gigs Going to Replace Festivals in the U.K. and Other Parts of the World?
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IN some ways…
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we have sort of gone back to the 1950s and 1960s! Because of social distancing rules, many have been going to drive-in cinemas, and that is being seen here in the U.K. and other nations. Drive-in films are being seen in Canberra (Australia) for the first time in many years, and it seems that the comfort and relative safety of the car is giving people access to films and other forms of entertainment. There is no telling when festivals can return in their traditional form. Some say it will be next year, whilst there have been forecasts that we will not see festivals resume until 2022. That is a worrying proposition for music lovers, artists and festival organisers, so there are alternatives being suggested. I am not sure how far we are from having a track-and-trace system implemented where people can be tested before they go to a festival/gig and we can avoid social distancing. Whilst that is being worked on/discussed, the drive-in gig might become more common. It is something that has already been trialed in Denmark, and it must be an odd experience for everyone involved! Rather than dancing and bonding at gigs, it is a lot more static and confined. Fewer people will be able to attend, but it does offer musicians a chance to perform and get some money coming in. It will be interesting to see whether there is a way to make festivals accessible sooner rather than later.
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Drive-in concerts will provide encouragement for many artists who have not been able to earn revenue during the past few months. This article from The Guardian looks at Australia and how their festivals will look for the immediate future:
“Theirs is just one of many drive-in gigs set to take place next month as Australia slowly begins to reopen. For three nights from 10 July, drive-in festival Airwaves will set up on the Sunshine Coast with a line-up led by the Chats. In Melbourne a “live entertainment precinct” called The Drive-In will take over Flemington racecourse, offering weekly live music as well as comedy and movie nights. Another offering, Drive-in Entertainment Australia, plans to launch around the country next month.
Drive-in gigs have emerged as a creative solution for an industry in crisis. The pandemic has indefinitely halted traditional live shows, music’s financial lifeblood. Large public gatherings sardine-packed with sweaty bodies will be among the last things to return: Splendour in the Grass, which was previously rescheduled from July until October, announced this week its 2020 event will not go ahead.
And while major events like Falls festival plan to proceed with local line-ups in December, some are predicting festivals as we know them won’t be able to return until late 2022. With thousands out of work, the industry is lobbying the government for financial assistance including business grants and an expansion of the jobkeeper scheme”.
Some might say that a drive-in festival or gig is like watching music on T.V. In the sense you do not get to actually see the artists up-close and get close to people. With the Government not doing much to subside and sustain the live music sector, there is a real worry that the majority of concert spaces in the U.K. will close permanently.
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Gig-goers are being asked how they will approach live music going forward, and I do think that there is this sort of unease; people worrying about going to gigs but, on the other hand, not wanting venues to close. Drive-in will work better for festivals, and it might have to be the way things are next year, unless there is a vaccine or things have improved considerably. In terms of smaller gigs, I guess some form of socially-distanced alternative will need to come in, but I think the drive-in option is a way for festivals to restart in some form. It is very strange we have readopted the notion of the drive-in for entertainment! I do think drive-in festivals will be rolled out in the U.K. and U.S., and I think most of Europe will do things this way. Whilst bigger festivals might not go drive-in, there are some U.K. gigs that will benefit from this format:
“A series of drive-in concerts are to take place across the UK this summer, promoters Live Nation have announced.
The likes of Ash, Dizzee Rascal, The Lightning Seeds and Gary Numan, have all signed up to play at the "Live From The Drive-In" events.
Outdoor spaces in Birmingham, Liverpool, London will play host, as well as Edinburgh, Bristol and beyond.
The 300-car gigs have been designed to provide a safe alternative to the many events that have been cancelled.
The concert series, which will also feature The Streets and Tony Hadley, will run from mid-July until September, while music venues continue talks with the government about how and when they might reopen in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
I keep coming back to small venues, who do not have the option of doing drive-ins. If venues cannot get adequate funding and relief in the coming months, then there will have to be some form of contingency where they can open their doors but have fewer people inside or have virtual gigs. Laura Marling recently performed a live-streamed gig in London, and some have asked whether this initiative might be a solution. Can we have virtual gigs and festivals, or should artists follow the likes of Marling and film gigs at beautiful venues, to at least provide something more exciting and immersive than home-filled gigs? The lack of connection between performer and artist is loss, and there is not that reception and rapture you get at normal live gigs. I do think these options need to be explored, as there is a real danger of losing most of our live sector. Festivals might fare better in the short/long-term, as there is more space to explore drive-ins and have people at least get within sight of a real gig. Although the notion of a drive-in gig/festival might same old-world and unusual, it might be the only way to keep…
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LIVE music going.