Keith Urban Brings Nashville First Responders to Drive-in Theater for Socially Distant Concert [Watch]
Keith Urban spent his Thursday night (May 14) at the drive-in. The country superstar played an invite-only, coronavirus pandemic-approved show for Nashville-area first responders at an open-air movie theater just outside of Music City.
Urban and his team invited more than 200 doctors, nurses, EMTs and staff members from Nashville's Vanderbilt Health to the Stardust Drive-in, which is located about 40 miles east of Nashville, for his hour-plus performance. Attendees stayed at their vehicles, to remain properly distanced from each other, but flashed their lights and honked their horns in place of applause throughout the show.
"To all of you guys here tonight, for everything that you’ve done and continue to do, to all of your families, we say thank you," Urban told the crowd, who listened to his show via FM radio.
Of the experience, he adds, "Performing in this environment, with everyone in their cars at a safe distance from one another, seems like an amazing opportunity for everybody to just let go and have fun."
See Pictures From Keith Urban's Drive-in Concert:
On Today on Friday morning (May 15), Urban told show host Savannah Guthrie that the concert was "a load of fun." He says the crowd "did an amazing job as an audience," and he loved being back up onstage.
Danish artist Mads Langer recently hosted a first-of-its-kind drive-in concert overseas, but Urban's Thursday night performance is being billed as the first U.S. drive-in show. The idea is being touted as a possible solution to seeing live music during the coronavirus pandemic, and five Texas-based country artists are set for a series of drive-in shows in Arlington in early June.
Mass gatherings, such as concerts, are still banned throughout the U.S., in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Until a COVID-19 vaccine is available, they will remain risky endeavors, a fact that, per a recent survey, may keep many fans from attending shows even if they return before a vaccine is produced.
Urban has been keeping busy during his time at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, playing livestream shows for fans and participating in, among other distanced events, the ACM Presents: Our Country TV special in early April. He recently announced a new album, The Speed of Now, Part 1, due out in September, two days after he is due to host the rescheduled-from-April 2020 ACM Awards in Nashville.
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