Organizer Planning To Go Ahead With Concert In Valparaiso, Indiana This Summer, With Some COVID Precautions
VALPARAISO, Ind. (CBS) -- Remember concerts?
Jamming to live music may feel like ancient history, but tickets just went on sale Friday for one summer show in Northwest Indiana.
CBS 2's Tim McNicholas had a look at how that will work for a world on its way out of a pandemic.
Tyrus Joseforsky has a vision for Central Park Plaza in Valparaiso, Indiana.
"People in lawn chairs, spread out all across the venue in their blanket," he said.
Joseforsky is a concert planner who booked the Eli Young Band to play the downtown Valparaiso venue June 17.
"This is the first time in a long time that we've really had some hope that life's going to start getting back to normal," he said.
But it won't be all the way normal.
He plans to cap attendance for the show at 1,500 tickets, about 50 percent capacity for the park.
On the day of the concert, a team of social distancing ushers will direct people where to sit to try to keep everyone socially distanced on the lawn.
"I think everyone just needs a little fresh air, a little live music, and a little pick-me-up after what happened last year," Joseforsky said.
Last year, Joseforsky said his Flight Levelz Entertainment company didn't make a dime. They planned a socially-distanced Lee Brice concert in Hobart, but that was called off due COVID concerns.
That's now been rescheduled for June 5, about two weeks before the Eli Young show. McNicholas asked Joseforsky if there isn't concern that these concerts could be called off too – as the pandemic is not over.
"Well, there's always a concern with, are our numbers going to spike again?" he said.
But this time, with vaccines rolling out across the area, Joseforsky has hope.
"Now that things are finally looking promising, we finally have a light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
And thus, he expects his vision to finally become reality.
So what can we expect for concerts in and around Chicago this summer?
Six concerts are scheduled for Wrigley Field. Tickets are already on sale for all of them, and all of them are actually rescheduled from 2020.
The first is Chris Stapleton on July 21.
Will any of them actually take place? A Cubs spokesperson tells us: "We do not have any information to share related to concerts at the moment. Our main focus right now is working to prepare Wrigley Field for the start of baseball and the potential return of fans."
Live Nation has several venues in our area, including the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island and the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park.
A spokesperson tells us: "It's encouraging to be one step closer to reconnecting artists and fans at concerts. While events will require regular capacity to really work in the long term, we are grateful for the ongoing partnership of many of Chicago's elected officials, including Governor Pritzker, and are looking forward to working together on a plan to get to shows with regular capacity as soon as we can."
Of course, the city would have to sign off on any big events in Chicago.
A spokesperson cracked the door open to big events like concerts: "While we are not formally planning nor permitting events at this time, our COVID-19 indicators continue to trend in the right direction and we are hopeful that some events that align with health guidelines may be possible later this year. As such, Mayor Lightfoot has directed City departments to prepare for the possibility of events this summer and ensure any resources that could be necessary are available."
