Great White performed a concert this past Thursday in Dickinson, North Dakota. The concert was part of “First on First: Dickinson Summer Nights,” a concert series without safety restrictions or social distancing guidelines.
Footage of the concert shows attendees packed in together and standing shoulder to shoulder, none of them wearing a mask. Fans dance and drink as they look on towards the stage, Great White rallying the crowd as they perform.
“We do not have restrictions, believe it or not, we don’t have any,” Amy Getz, an event coordinator for the concert series, said to 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.”
The concert series began on June 18, and plans to continue until August 12. Stark County, where Dickinson is located, currently has 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19. North Dakota had their highest reported number of cases in a single day on July 8, with 99 new cases. The state has had a total of 4,247 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic first started, with a total of 91 deaths.
In 2003, Great White was involved in a tragedy that killed 100 people and injured 230. Guitarist Ty Longley was among those who died after pyrotechnics lit by the band’s tour manager caused a fire near the back of the stage. The fire soon spread through the venue due to the flammable foam the nightclub had used as insulation, with two of the four exits being chained shut. A bouncer initially prohibited fans from using the stage door to exit while the heat caused glass on the ceiling to shatter and fall down into the crowd.