There are many things that people are missing during the pandemic. Among those things are live concerts. As in-person events are hard to come by during this pandemic the future of concerts is unclear. However, recent alternatives to concerts are becoming more and more popular. Some of these alternatives include, “Live shows, with actual human beings present, are being staged at drive-ins, in parking lots, at farms, in “pods” in fields, and even indoors.” This could be the new reality of how concerts will be performed. Due to COVID-19, many businesses have lost revenue including the music industry.

Even with these new alternatives to concerts and artists like Scotty McCreery enforcing “air high fives” as opposed to the traditional “shaking hands and hugging” almost “90% of indie music venues could disappear” according to NIVA, the National Independent Venue Association. Not only are the new social distancing concerts putting a damper on social interaction some people flat out aren’t practicing social distancing during these concerts, Chad Rogers says, “We asked them to social distance. They sort of did, they sort of didn’t.” Michael Dorf says, “If everyone would follow these types of procedures across the country, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Pat Finnerty and the Full Band have found an alternative to concerts. As opposed to having a formal set concert date and the need to buy tickets they had an impromptu concert on top of a rooftop of, Johnny Brenda’s, a local diner in Philadelphia. Marley McNamara adds that “[They] weren’t sure what to expect, but [they] really pulled it off.” Whether the concert viewers were in their cars passing by and admiring the show or they actually gathered with masks 6 feet apart outside of the restaurant it was a huge hit. This could be a great alternative to the previous attempts at concerts that are close to failing. This uplifting event was a great way to remind people to keep their heads up despite the seemingly never-ending pandemic. Make sure to check out any local artists because managers have less money to pay artists due to the reduction in the size of the concerts and concerts could very well be non-existent after the pandemic is over.