MS Coast Coliseum’s first concert during coronavirus still on despite governor’s order
South Mississippi’s first big concert since the coronavirus shutdown is still set for this weekend on the Coast Coliseum lawn despite the governor’s order to limit outdoor gatherings to 20 people.
Country music artist Jamey Johnson has played the Crawfish Festival and sold-out shows at IP Casino in Biloxi, and on Saturday the IP and Coliseum are bringing him back for a more socially distant, outdoor performance.
Gov. Tate Reeves’s latest executive order went into effect at 8 a.m. Monday. It mandates masks and limits gatherings in Harrison and Jackson counties and 11 others, where new cases of COVID-19 are among the fastest-rising in the state.
The coronavirus curve has been rocketing upward in Harrison County, with a 60% increase in newly reported cases in the past three weeks — by far the largest on the Coast.
Matt McDonnell, executive director of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, compares this weekend’s outdoor concert to groups of 20 being allowed to gather at the beach.
Those who attend won’t stand or sit in rows of chairs as in past years. All tickets were sold in round tables of eight, and all tables will be spaced apart on the Coliseum grounds, McDonnell said.
“We won’t have 20. We’ll have 8,” he said, and all the people at each table will know each other.
That’s why they’re calling it “The Family and Friends show,” he said.
The Ticketmaster website shows the seating layout of 240 tables, with 13 unsold. That adds up to just over 1,800 possible attendees, and up to 1,920 people if it’s sold out by the weekend.
“Everybody will have a mask. Everybody,” he said. Eight masks will be provided at each table, along with rules and regulations to direct people to stay at their own table and not circulate.
Hand sanitizer will be provided at each table, and hand-washing stations will be available throughout the area.
“People still want to be entertained, and they want to do it in a safe way,” McDonnell said.
“It’s very well-thought out in terms of how we will approach this,” he said.
“This concert will show that entertainment can be done in an orderly and safe way if people will cooperate,” he said, “and we will provide that mechanism to do so.”
The Coliseum also hosted a boxing event last weekend inside the Coliseum, McDonnell said, and there was room for more spectators even with social distancing limiting seating.
IP Casino Biloxi is sponsoring the show. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m., with local country music artist Cole Jones the opening act.
“This will be a show that our attendees will always remember,” McDonnell said in a Facebook post.
