The Show Must go On…This Weekend

You could attend a concert this weekend and it's just 2 hours from the Capital Region! Live music, outside in 70 degrees with the sunshine of November!

Guitarist Warren Haynes will play his 7th show of the past several weeks at South Farms in Morris, Connecticut. The previous 6 sold out quickly. This Sunday's 1pm matinee marks Warren's final performance of the series and the final show of the outdoor season at South Farms.

On a selfish note one of my biggest disappointments in 2020 was the postponement or cancellation of live music events. I certainly realize that there are much bigger concerns this year than my desire to hear music performed live again. At the same time the lack of shows isn't just a disappointment for music fans. The suppression of concerts has hit musicians, road crews and the entire touring industry very hard.

One shining light of the season came as a surprise to many. On Monday August 3rd a concert announcement was made via Facebook. This wasn't to announce a show in 2021 or 2022. It wasn't for a rescheduled show. This wasn't even for 1 singular performance but rather a concert series at South Farms! Socially distanced of course.

In the days and weeks that followed promoters announced comedy, Folk and Rock shows with performances, to name a few, by the Allman Betts Band, Grace Potter, Nikki Glaser, Dinosaur Jr., the Marcus King Trio, 3 shows with comedian Bill Burr and 6 SOLD OUT Rock shows by Warren Haynes.

This series of events was dubbed Twilight Concerts On The Farm. My girl and I got our tickets to see the Marcus king Trio on September 8th. Unsure of how well this event would be handled we did our research and found they had a great plan in place to keep concertgoers safe and socially distanced.

We filled out a health questionnaire prior to attending. Upon arrival, we presented the questionnaire via our phone, had our temperature taken and entered the venue. South Farms is an iconic New England farm and as I surveyed the area it reminded me of a small Woodstock. Instead of 500,000 the capacity at South Farms is 500.

When you purchase a ticket you are actually purchasing a "grid" that accommodates 2 individuals. Each "grid" is approximately 8'X9'. We had enough room for 2 lawn chairs and a blanket. Ushers and security did a good job of enforcing the 2 per grid policy as well as keeping patrons apart at the concession area and portable bathrooms. Overall we felt their social distancing procedures were well executed. The only real complaint would be any "grids" to the far left or right of the stage as these locations tend to be obstructed view with no advanced warning.

The Marcus King Trio were great as they jammed through a set of original blues based, guitar heavy Rock wrapping up with a cover of "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath. The point is we were thrilled to experience live music in 2020 and you can as well. The Warren Haynes show is Sunday November 8th, Gates open at 1pm and show begins at 3pm. Go to www.southfarms.org to see more.