Building A Better Mousetrap

It was like a USO show for the troops, a morale booster for the fans. The drive-in shows in Nashville, St. Louis and Indianapolis were sellouts or close to it last weekend. Still, with all the expenses, no empires will be built on these events. A-list talent selling 1,000-2,000 tickets -- even at 100 bucks a pop -- doesn’t work out for the accountants. But it was badly needed, hopefully broke even and it was great PR!

But thinking outside the box, based on what we all have seen in Alan Jackson’s two previous drive-in shows and the three last weekend featuring Brad Paisley and others, there is something very positive in the equation. Fear is keeping some of the good ideas from being tried. That’s a legitimate fear, too. The Coronavirus is spiking in plenty of areas. Backlash from a show poorly handled could be a disaster. The fans behaved, from all reports, at last weekend’s Live Nation shows, with social distancing, mask wearing, etc. The fans just wanted to party, get out, see other humans and hear live music.

Would a stage like they use at Rodeo Houston help? They could park cars 320 degrees around in a bigger space than the amphitheatre lots and the cow pastures. Unpaved areas are a problem with rain. Finding a way to use the stage multiple nights would help, and did help the drive-in shows. More cars, better views -- there has to be a way. Those back rows were pretty far away from the stage.

The existing drive-ins are tiered, higher and higher. Back rows don’t have to look like the folks on the back row of an arena floor seat. Is there enough money in this to create a new kind of amphitheatre built around cars? Probably not, but we did find a way to get man on the Moon!

Someone is going to have to figure out a way for the arts to live. Theater, for example, actors on stage with musicians in a pit playing to a packed theater is just a dream until summer of 2021, if then. Broadway may have to find a way to do pay-per-views like Disney did recently with the “Hamilton” movie.

Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” is in Montana now with all the actors and crew locked away from the outside world in a bubble. They will be able to do their show, but not without some sacrifice, like going on a Moon mission or to space. NASA quarantines astronauts before a launch.

What if several “A” acts did a pay-per-view, one time only show? No tour, just a big jam. People who have never appeared together, maybe even folks from the pop world. A “Must See TV” kind of thing, only available on, say, Apple TV, and they pay a bundle for the rights. Thinking outside the box may be what has to be done. It would have star power, safety, and make money.

The White House sent out a message to people unemployed waiting for their jobs to restart: Go find something else. Ouch!

But isn’t that going to have to happen if no tours are able to go out fairly soon? How long are the crews not getting federal unemployment supposed to be able to hold out? It’s a maze, and we have to find a way to teach school, see other humans, and get the fun back into our lives.

The well-oiled teams that make Nashville tours great will have to do something else to survive. How long can the stars and their staffs hold out? Fatigue is setting in, and Groundhog Day repeats and repeats.

Hiding at home has been the plan for many artists. Is there a way to be safe and put some excitement back in the mix? Live-streamed shows could only take things so far. Unless it’s a death, a divorce or a new baby, Nashville music business news is thin.

Is everyone just sitting around doing puzzles? Bring a camera into the studio like a few have. Do a show like Jerry Seinfeld does with “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.” Be safe, but do something! The game isn’t over! Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, this week Reba McEntire and Vince Gill at the Opry … let’s hear from the new folks!

We all are here listening.