Concerts have been given the okay to resume in the state of Missouri by Governor Mike Parson as soon as Monday, May 4, 2020.
According to Billboard, the Governor released a Show Me Strong recovery plan that detailed plans for reopening the state, and it included guidance on how to allow concerts to resume:
A first for the country since governments started instating lockdown orders, Missouri will allow residents to attend live events, including concerts. According to the Show Me Strong guidelines, large events and gatherings are no longer banned, but in order to go to a concert, movie theater or stadium "seating shall be spaced out according to social distancing requirements."
A representative from Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services clarified for Billboard that concerts do not have to adhere to the same occupancy limitations as retail businesses, but event organizers are expected to keep concertgoers six feet or more apart to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
While the state is allowing concerts to resume, several major cities in Missouri such as St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield will still be enacting stay at home orders until further notice, not allowing concerts or major gatherings to happen in their city.
According to the Billboard report, even venues that are allowed to reopen are choosing not to let patrons in just yet.
According to Worldometer, Missouri has had 8,154 total cases as of this writing, with 136 new cases today and 361 deaths overall (3 in the last day).
Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe spoke about how metal shows won't really work in the age of social distancing, in a recent interview with the Vox & Hops podcast
"As far as how shows will be in the future, I don't know if there will be shows until we can have shows normally — in general, for anyone. Because I don't think — let's be realistic; let's be 100 percent realistic — I don't think a bunch of metalheads or punk rock kids or hardcore kids, when they all go to a show, if there's gonna be social distancing, any band starts playing, that social distancing shit's gonna go out the window. It's, like, 'It's time to mosh, motherfucker.' You know what I mean? That's not gonna work for us, bro — that's just not gonna work.
"Can you imagine how weird it would be? I remember seeing Testament and Slayer in, like, fuck, maybe '90, I think it was — '90 or '91; they were on tour together. And they played this venue in Richmond called The Mosque, and it was all seated. It's this beautiful theater and it's all seated. And I was, like, 'This is not gonna work, man.' And sure enough… They had security guards going up in the aisles and trying to keep it calm. But, nah, man — chairs got fucked up. That's not how you do it. And what am I gonna say to the audience? 'Everybody, stand really still. Don't touch anyone. This next song is called 'Walk With Me In Hell'. Two meters, please.' It's not gonna work for Lamb of God, bro. So it's, like, holy fuck.
"I think it would be a mistake to try and have a fucking metal show and space restrictions. What the fuck, man? That just wouldn't do — wouldn't do at all.
"Another thing that fans need to remember is this isn't our decision [as to when we can go back on the road]. And it varies state to state, province to province, municipality to municipality. Local governments have different rules. Everybody thinks that, well, we can just go on tour, and this is how we're gonna do it. No, man. We have to be granted a license to play a show."
