At long last, live music will be played to a live audience at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville this week. The “Mother Church of Country Music” announced on Tuesday that it will welcome a reduced-capacity crowd for this week’s edition of its recently-launched pay-per-view livestream series, Live at the Ryman. This week’s Live at the Ryan performer is Scotty McCreery on Friday, September 4th. You can purchase tickets to his performance here.
According to the Tennessean, “The audience will be limited to 125 ticketed guests —roughly 5 percent of the venue’s capacity. Groups of 2 to 6 will be placed in physically distanced sections throughout the building. Masks will be mandatory for all guests and staff. All food and beverage stations will be closed, but the Ryman will offer complimentary bottled water.” The concerts will also be monitored and guided in their social distancing practices by the venue’s “wellness adviser,” Vanderbilt Health.
In his post about his Ryman show this Friday, McCreery added that “the Ryman will strictly comply with operating plans developed in partnership with the Nashville Public Health Department and Vanderbilt Health that include socially distanced seating, mandatory masks for all guests and staff, as well as enhanced cleaning practices. … In addition, health personnel will be on hand to observe and ensure compliance throughout the events.”
Just learned that @theryman has been authorized to sell 125 in-person, socially-distanced seats for my show this Friday, Sept. 4. How awesome is that! I can’t wait to see your masked faces. Tix on sale now for in-person or livestream at https://t.co/H8QmHAapFR. #LiveAtTheRyman pic.twitter.com/W0aWq4LtSe
— Scotty McCreery (@ScottyMcCreery) September 1, 2020
In-person tickets for McCreery’s show at The Ryman on Friday start at $89 and include a poster and in-person access to the artist Q&A prior to the show. Livestream ticket prices start at $10. For ticketing and livestream details, head here.
This is McCreery’s second appearance at the Ryman this year. Coincidentally, he was the last artist to headline a concert there before all shows were paused indefinitely in March.
The Ryman has not yet announced whether it will sell in-person tickets to the upcoming editions of Live at the Ryman, which include performances by Brett Young (9/11) and Old Crow Medicine Show (9/18). Presumably, organizers are waiting to see how it goes on Friday before making a move going forward. As is the theme of 2020, we’ll just have to wait and see.
[H/T Tennessean]