Garth Brooks Is Keeping His 2020 Tour Alive in an Unconventional Way

The coronavirus has led to a number of unfortunate cancellations. For many, one of the biggest losses was live music acts, which had to cancel shows in order to keep the virus from spreading. While most musicians are still waiting for the world to be safe enough for concerts, Garth Brooks has decided to take action. He's announced that his 2020 tour will still move forward, but in a slightly unconventional way. 

In a recent interview on Good Morning America, Garth announced that his fans would still get the chance to see him in spite of the virus. "This one guy came to me and said, 'Hey, look, we can put 300 drive-in theaters together if you will create a concert solely for the drive-ins. We can have families jump in the car, get them out on Saturday night," Garth said. 

The country singer continued, explaining that it would be like a normal concert. "They're going to run it just like a regular concert, but this is going to be all over North America, one night only," he said. "We are excited because this is a reason to get out of the house, but at the same time you get to follow all the COVID rules from every individual state and you get to have fun and stay within the guidelines of social distancing ... we're calling it 'social distancing partying.'" 

Tickets for the tour go on sale on June 19 and will cost $100 for admission for one vehicle. He cautioned fans that they would have to act fast, as there will be fewer tickets available than there would be for a normal concert. It may not be exactly like a normal concert, but Garth is trying to provide his fans with some semblance of live entertainment while remaining responsible. 

Encore Live, the team behind the tour, has partnered with health experts to make sure the concerts are as safe as possible. Vehicles will be required to stay six feet apart from one another, employees will have to use personal protective equipment, and restroom usage will be limited. They'll also be using contactless payment and ticketing systems. 

"Families need safe entertainment options that they can enjoy together this summer," said Encore Live's founder and CEO Walter Kinzie. "We're excited to partner with Garth, who's already done so much to help the entertainment industry during these tough times, to provide a truly unique and incredible concert that will do a whole lot of good for local businesses and communities." 

Even outside of Garth's concert series, drive-in theaters have seen a surge in popularity thanks to the pandemic. Because they were the only theaters in the country open for several months, they had a monopoly on the audience for those interested in going to a movie.