Great White, the band that famously killed 100 people after setting off pyrotechnics inside of a small club, is at it again. The veteran rockers played a concert in Dickinson, North Dakota this past Thursday with no social distancing or any other safety protocols.
The concert was part of a concert series called “First on First”, which flaunts the fact that it has no safety restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We do not have restrictions, believe it or not, we don’t have any,” April Getz, an event coordinator for the concert series, told The Dickinson Press. “It’s one of those things where if people feel comfortable coming down and mixing and mingling, that’s their personal choice. We’re leaving it up to everybody that chooses to attend.”
As you can see from the footage embedded below, several hundred people attended the concert, standing in close proximity to one another with not a face mask to be seen. As health officials have warned that singing together in close quarters is a sure-fire way to spread the coronavirus, Great White quite literally found a new way to risk the lives of their fans.
Currently, there are two incarnations of Great White. The simply named Great White, who played the aforementioned North Dakota show, and Jack Russell’s Great White, led by the original band’s founding singer.
Update – July 12th: Great White have issued a statement apologizing “to those who disagree with our decision to fulfill our contractual agreement.”
“We understand that there are some people who are upset that we performed this show, during this trying time. We assure you that we worked with the Promoter. North Dakota’s government recommends masks be worn, however, we are not in a position to enforce the laws. We have had the luxury of hindsight and we would like to apologize to those who disagree with our decision to fulfill our contractual agreement. The Promoter and staff were nothing but professional and assured us of the safety precautions. Our intent was simply to perform our gig, outside, in a welcoming, small town. We value the health and safety of each and every one of our fans, as well as our American and global community. We are far from perfect.”
Editor’s Note: Stay safe by picking up one of our custom face masks. A portion of the proceeds will benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Artist Relief fund supporting independent musicians.