Many musicians have to be creative to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Dave Matthews Band is the latest to be affected. The band’s bass player Stefan Lessard, and drummer Carter Beauford both contracted COVID-19 in breakthrough cases before the three-night concert series at Gorge Amphitheater, Seattle. The weekend’s shows were filled with musicians from their opening bands.
The crowd. “I hope you’ll bear with us tonight because due to COVID-19, Carter Beauford and Stefan Lessard are not able to be here,” Matthews explained. “So, we are going to do our best with our friends to make tonight a beautiful experience for you. I only hope that it can be. But thank you and I hope that you understand.”
“My dear friend Carter and my dear friend Stefan both seem to be, not battling, ’cause they’re both vaccinated but… we want to set an example and they both apparently tested positive,” Matthews continued. “So they’re not here with us this evening but we will play the evening for them. Because that’s what we got to do. And tomorrow is another day.”
This news was made possible by the new COVID-19 regulations that were introduced for concertgoers in August. “All ticket holders for all announced dates must provide proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48-hours prior to entry, “Reads the official website of Dave Matthews Band. “Children under the age of 12 may attend the concert if they provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours (72 hours for Merriweather Post Pavilion) of the show. Ticket holders using a negative test for entry will not need to get subsequent tests if they are attending multiple shows at the same venue.”They also encouraged concert-goers to wear masks, especially if it was impossible to socially disengage.