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Chris Jericho returned to live performances with his band Fozzy this week, playing four shows in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Iowa. The band’s last performance was seven months ago during the Chris Jericho Cruise.
The events will include the 80th Annual Sturgis Biker Rally, which many are criticizing due to the sheer volume of people descending on South Dakota’s rural Black Hills
During his Saturday Night Special live stream, Jericho provided provided some insight on the reason behind returning to the road amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
He explained that the tour was originally planned for April and May, but was postponed until July and August, and then postponed until this fall. He was surprised to learn a handful of dates in August were able to move forward.
“We actually did four shows this week, and the reason for that is we had our ‘Save the World Tour’ which was originally scheduled for April and May, but it got postponed to July and August, then got postponed to October and November. Four shows remained in August, and I was like ‘How?”. The shows are in South Dakota, and North Dakota, and we have one in Fort Madison, Iowa, which is right near the border of South Dakota.”
Jericho stated they were able to perform in select states due to low COVID-19 numbers
“The reason why the shows have happened is because these states of North Dakota and South Dakota have low COVID cases, less than 1000 in both states, I think Florida had 9000 today alone”.
He also revealed that two shows were sold out, but were sold below capacity. He mentioned they hand out masks at the door, and do temperature checks on patrons entering the venues.
“The venues are either outside, or they are half capacity. We are sold out tonight in Minot with I think 50% capacity, last night we were sold out in Sioux Falls, SD with 35% capacity. We hand out masks at the door, the temperature checks. We stay on the bus all day, the Fozzy crew and camp have been tested”
One concertgoer posted a photo from tonight’s event in Minot, SD, which appears to show nobody in the crowd wearing a mask. Some users on Twitter have criticized Jericho moving forward with these events.
https://twitter.com/christinejuma05/status/1292291353553051650?s=20
The Original, which hosted Saturday’s show did provide guidelines ahead of the performance, indicating masks were available at the door, as well as hand sanitizing stations throughout the venue.
- Mask must be worn to enter the venue for the safety of our door staff
- Masks will be available at the door if you don’t have one
- Hand Sanitizer stations will be available throughout the venue
- Please practice personal hygiene while in the venue
- Tables and chairs will be removed from the main floor to be able to ensure social distancing
- Thank you for helping us with this so we are able to produce this show
The venue reportedly holds 375 people, with a 50% capacity that would mean 187 tickets would be available for sale.
Sunday night, Fozzy will be playing in front of a much larger crowd, during the 80th Annual Sturgis Biker Rally. The band will be playing at the Iron Horse Saloon outdoor stage. The 10-day biker rally is expected to draw 250,000 people. It’s unknown how many people will be present for Fozzy’s performance Sunday night.
Watch his full Saturday Night Special live stream below.
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