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Yeah, drive-in gigs, it’ll be a thing...

This sounds like a great idea to me. People are already accustomed to watching big arena shows on the jumbo-tron and the technology to project live video onto the screen and live sound onto the radios of cars in the drive-in lot is easily available and inexpensive. I would pay a few extra bucks to see a movie with a local band playing before or after.
 
Yeah unfortunately no one is touring this year. Too hard to schedule anything with different parts of the country in different phases of reopening. Not a fan of the drive in concert but it is at least an attempt at keeping live music happening.
Most drive ins that broadcast over fm probably already have a license. And I'm sure live nation got an STA permit from the FCC for their three shows if they are broadcasting. But be aware of smaller local shows that are attempting to broadcast over fm if you are asked to play. Most of them aren't going through the hassle and expense of getting an STA permit to do an fm broadcast. There are tons of transmitters on amazon that claim to be legal in this country but aren't. If the fcc catches an illegal broadcast or it interferes with a licensed commercial station in the area the FCC is likely to come down on everyone involved.....
 
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i attended the UK's first drive in gig on Friday.

It was great! Really well organised and everyone felt safe and happy to be back amongst live music.
 
Where I live, Drive-ins have been gone for years. But those of us, of a certain age, will always
remember them, if hazily.
There was always a guy that everyone made 'ride in the trunk' to sneak in. Just for laughs.
And you always wanted to get a spot next to the snack bar.
"Oh wow! Hey man, right beside the snack bar! There's a parking spot right beside the snack bar!"
One of my friends used to put a pony keg in his van, take it to the Drive-in, and basically have
a party right there! There wasn't as much authority supervision back then, and for the most
part, they let us kids have fun, no hang ups.
One of the reasons the Drive-in died, was the change in culture. Kids are much more supervised now, the concept of freedom, as my generation knew it, would never be allowed now. We were a bunch of Matt Dillon, Spicolli characters, with feathered hair, high waisted
Levi's, and Members Only jackets. Ironically, the last thing I ever saw at the Drive-in, was
a double feature of Heavy Metal and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
To the younger guys that missed those years: it was glorious. You could pretty much do
whatever you wanted, not too many rules, and not really enforced.
Sitting in an old car, on 2 or 3 different 'substances' watching irradiated cartoon demon Vikings
pillage a town on a massive screen while Mob Rules jams, all the while you're being
'pleasured', in a public venue. It was "Awesome, totally awesome!"
 
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I used to have a sweet gig playing at a drive in. We would play a long set waiting for sundown and a quickie between films. I loved that gig. Sadly, the landowner who was leasing the property died and the children who inherited it thought the land would be worth more to a developer and shut it down. It sits empty to this day like 10 years later. There was always a few hundred people and every one had a good time. I was sad to see it go.
 
Local churches were having drive-in services on Sundays, but the turn-out is slim to say the least.
Most would rather listen to a service on the radio or watch it on TV.

I can't stand drive-thru for food, because I don't want to eat in my vehicle, & the food is cold by the time I get home.

I'd rather watch a previous performance on TV than over a radio in a parking-lot.
And I think that this is probably where most people will land once the newness of drive-in concerts wanes. I think that the marginal sound of movies over car speaker systems played a big role in the ultimate demise of drive-ins.
 
What's the difference between watching a movie screen and watching a band?

a movie is not live and requires zero interaction between performer and audience. I'd rather go without and just wait for shows than sit in a car and watch a band who can't see their audience. Or play for an audience I can't interact with. Can get as much out of watching a concert video at home.
 
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While I agree with the sentiment and conclusion, to be clear, the article says nothing about using drive in theatre locations. That's just an assumption ppl in this thread made based on the headline (which is not a good look, if I may say so).

In fact, they go on to say that some of the proposed locations can fit up to 1000 vehicles. If every car had four ppl, that would be an attendance of 4000 audience members and that is plenty for a big name concert... Not that I'd be much interested in attending though. I might feel different of I had a pickup truck that I could party in but I drive a Honda fit.

I don't like being in the back of 1000 people at a show. No way in hell I'd pay to be in the back of 1000 cars. Check that.... after seeing their plan, make that the back of 3000 spots to accommodate 1000 cars.
 
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Locally, a drive in concert will allow up to 6 people per car and sit on blankets or chairs on each drivers side of the car, so you dont have to sit in the car or truck....they charge according to how many in the car....dont know if they check the trunk!

So if you can sit by the side of your car, and someone is sitting in the car next to you, now we're no longer social distancing and have made this whole thing pointless.
 
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I'm already 90% quit anyway, so value doesn't matter. I've sold half my basses and other members of my "band"
(and I do use the word loosely) just will not get together and rehearse, even though we can easily put 10 feet or more between members. This COVID-19 thing is separating the players from the folks who just want to say they're in a band and I'm tired of fighting it.

play wherever you wanna play. Maybe I'll be there to watch...
 
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