Jason Isbell requiring concertgoers to be vaccinated or show negative COVID test
If you want to attend a Jason Isbell concert, the singer has some rules you’ll need to follow to gain entry.
Isbell, a southern rocker and the lead of Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, said Monday all guests at his concerts will be required to prove they have received a COVID-19 vaccination or show they have recently tested negative for the virus.
“If the venue won’t allow that, we won’t play,” Isbell said on Twitter.
He first imposed that rule at a trio of concerts Saturday through Monday at Austin City Limits Live in Texas. The venue said those who provide a negative test must have tested negative within 72 hours of the event.
The same protocol was issued before his show this Thursday at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, the venue announced last week.
His Kansas City concert scheduled for Aug. 3 was abruptly canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances.” It’s unclear if it was due to COVID-19 protocol.
Artists at Live Nation venues will be allowed to require the same rules as Isbell’s shows, according to a document obtained by Variety. Effective in October, all employees at the Live Nation venues must be vaccinated, Variety reported.
Isbell said Monday on MSNBC people who work in music venues understand why the protocol is necessary.
“All the response I have gotten from people in the business has been positive because they understand we could go back to not working at all,” he said. “A lot of these smaller venues, they aren’t going to be able to reopen if they go through another round of shutdowns.”
Some music festivals in the United States have began to implement similar protocols during the surge of delta variant cases. Lollapalooza, held late last month in Chicago, required attendees to be vaccinated or show proof of a negative test.
Railbird Festival in Lexington, Kentucky, of which Isbell is a headliner, announced the same rules last week, as have Moon River Music Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Sea Hear Now Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey; BottleRock Napa Valley in California; and RiotFest in Chicago.
Isbell said venues in some states are getting pushback from governors who want to appease their political base.
“I’m all for freedom, but I think if you’re dead, you don’t have any freedoms at all,” Isbell said on MSNBC. “It’s probably important to stay alive before you start questioning your liberty. It’s life, and then it’s liberty, and then it’s the pursuit of happiness and those are in order of priority.”
Other artists who have implemented rules to protect against COVID-19 at their shows include Japanese Breakfast and Bully.
Widespread Panic, like Isbell, is requiring a COVID-19 vaccination or negative test for its shows later this week at Austin City Limits Live. The band had the same rules for its shows last weekend in Asheville, North Carolina
Rock band Green Day asked all attendees at a July show in Tulsa to be fully vaccinated and show proof.
In June, the Foo Fighters played Madison Square Garden’s first 100% capacity crowd since March 2020, but they also had vaccine requirements.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Jason Isbell requiring concertgoers to be vaccinated or show negative COVID test."