Chase Rice criticized for a crowded concert
Rice shared footage from her show, held Saturday at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee, on Instagram stories, which disappear after 24 hours.
The video has since been shared on several other social media accounts.
Brushy Mountain is a former prison more than 130 miles east of Nashville that has been converted into a museum and concert venue.
The video showed a crowd without masks that were together, singing and jumping as Rice, 34, invited them to the stage.
When CNN contacted us for comment, a Rice spokesman sent a statement to Brian May, vice president of Brushy Mountain Group, stating, “The last concert complied with all local requirements and a number of precautions were taken.”
“We have drastically reduced our maximum seat capacity from 10,000 to 4,000 maximum capacity (50% lower than the state recommendation) from less than 1,000 (954 tickets sold with 809 tickets scanned) on Saturday night, providing ample open lawn space for fans to expand to its own level of comfort, ”the statement said. “All guests are given a temperature check before entering the venue, and a free hand cleaner is available to everyone.”
Vendors and staff “were advised to wear masks and gloves while interacting with guests, and bandanas were available for purchase on the spot,” the statement said, but the site “was unable to further perform the physical distancing recommended in signs posted over own and deal with future alternative scenarios that further protect attendees, artists and their teams and our employees. ”
Local government officials did not immediately respond to CNN’s request to confirm whether the organizers met local requirements.
Earth artist Kelse Ballerini criticized Rice in a tweet for touring amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Imagine being selfish enough to risk the health of thousands of people, not to mention the potential reality effect, and playing a NORMAL country concert,” the 26-year-old Ballerini tweeted. “@ChaseRiceMusic, We all want (and need) to tour. We care enough about our fans and their families to wait.”
Another country singer, 37-year-old Mickey Guyton, tweeted in response to “Absolutely selfish act. Shame on him.”
Performers across the music industry had to cancel tours due to a health crisis because festivals, shows and events were canceled or became virtual.
In March, he complained that he had to be quarantined with a song called “Dear Corona.”
“Dear Corona, you don’t know the heart of a country’s fans / you don’t know we’re not cursed,” Rice sang in a video she posted. “So you can suggest Stagecoach / But you have to understand / That you don’t know the heart of a country’s fans.”
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