For music lovers, there’s nothing quite like live music.
Cancelled concerts during the coronavirus crisis made fans realize how much they missed cheering for their favorite artists in person.
“I’ve been vaccinated as soon as I could and so I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” said Jacqueline Brown of Windsor Locks, who had planned on attending five concerts last year which were cancelled.
“I’m a huge concert-goer. Like back before COVID-happened, I would go to about one a week,” said Austin Blake of Plainville.
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Live Nation’s fully owned & operated venues and festivals will be requiring all artists and fans to either show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative coronavirus test as of Oct. 4.
The Xfinity and Oakdale theatres in Connecticut are Live Nation venues.
“Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows,” said Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, one of the country’s largest concert and ticketing companies.
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“…and as of October 4th we will be following the model we developed for Lollapalooza and requiring this for artists, fans and employees at Live Nation venues and festivals everywhere possible in the US,” said Rapino.
In addition, all Live Nation employees will need to be vaccinated by then too.
“I’m just really excited to go back obviously do it safely, I think this is a really smart way to get artists and fans back in the venue in a safe manner,” said Brown.
But the requirement isn’t music to everyone’s ears.
“Proof of a negative test, that shouldn’t be required, but more of like common sense. But vaccination requirement, I feel that goes against everyone’s rights, that’s just my take on it,” said Blake.
This isn’t the first time we’re hearing about similar covid procedures in Connecticut.
Fans who plan to attend the Foo Fighters’ September concert in Bridgeport will have to do the same.
“I think for those that are vaccinated this is an awesome incentive,” said Brown.
While Live Nation didn’t specify how they’ll require documents to be shown come October, the company says they’ll be following the model they developed for Lollapalooza.
The 4-day music festival drew large crowds this last month.
Our NBC sister station NBC Chicago said to enter Lollapalooza concert-goers had to provide a printed copy of the COVID-19 vaccine card, vaccine record or negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of entering.
In addition, Lollapalloza had a ticket refund policy for those who tested positive for coronavirus close to the festival.
Live Nation has not yet responded to our request about what would happen in that case at the Xfinity Theatre, for example.
With different venues and artists insisting on their own safety protocols, fans, make sure you check the venue’s website before going to any concert.
Something Blake is scrambling to keep up with as rules keep changing, “I have tons of concerts planned for like Boston, NYC, New Hampshire.”
If you’ve misplaced your vaccination card, your best bet is to reach out to the source of where you were vaccinated.
UConn Health says you see your proof of vaccination on their MyChart portal, for example.
Community Health Center tells NBC Connecticut if they have your record, you can contact them and they’ll issue a new card.
