Smash Mouth Performs at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Written by SOURCE on August 11, 2020
Apparently undeterred by COVID-19, which was made quite clear when their lead singer told the crowd, “We’re all here together tonight! Fuck that COVID shit,” Smash Mouth performed at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota this past Sunday night.
Cue some “ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed” joke that’s already been made 1,000 times. Also, those in attendance seemed unconcerned.
As TMZ wrote of the gathering:
Though the venue, The Buffalo Chip, was reportedly at half capacity — and Smash Mouth’s manager says the promoter did a “fantastic job” with COVID-19 protocol — video of the event seems to tell a different story.
Support for said video telling “a different story” can be seen above.
USA TODAY adds that locals are expecting 250,000 motorcyclists to attend this year’s version of the event, which is down from the roughly 500,000 that have come in previous years. The 10-day fest will run through next weekend.
The NY Post adds that those who made the journey from virus hotspots to Sturgis weren’t required to go through quarantine (you probably could’ve guessed that). Attendees were also encouraged to put on face masks/coverings, but that also isn’t required.
In an email to Billboard the band behind “All Star” and other hits that have been overshadowed by “All Star” said they felt safe with the precautions taken by the venue.
“Everything backstage was sanitized, etc. The band has their own Covid addendum to their rider as well and the promoter and venue adhered to all of our requests,” said their band manager in that email.
“We spent endless hours advancing this event to make sure that it was pulled off as safely as possible and we are very happy with the outcome.”
The performers were not in control of what those in attendance did. So keep that in mind when determining levels of potential outrage.
“The Smash Mouth organization is taking this pandemic very seriously and has taken measures to keep our band, crew and fans as safe as possible during this time,” the band manager added.
Consider that quote in the tweet a temporary lapse.
