It’s been an interesting turn of events for Great White. The group held an outdoor performance on Thursday (9th) in Dickinson, North Dakota, which was part of First On First: Dickinson Summer Nights. For those who want to know more about this summer series, check out the event’s Facebook page as things look as though there’s no pandemic happening across the globe. While other concerts have taken extra precautionary steps due to the COVID-19 epidemic such as social distancing and wearing masks, this event has volunteers, attendees, and just about everyone having no restrictions set. Blabbermouth reports, April Getz, an event coordinator for Odd Fellows, said the following to The Dickinson Press:
“We do not have restrictions, believe it or not, we don’t have any. 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.”
While most footage has since been deleted of the event, you can see a glimpse below of the non-socially distanced show below:
https://youtu.be/TBmDIA8Iokg
The group took a lot of heat from going on with the show, as it reminded many of the 2003 nightclub fire incidents. Following the backlash and deleted videos on social media, the group’s publicist issued the below apology statement to Blabbermouth:
“We understand that there are some people who are upset that we performed this show, during this trying time. We assure you that we worked with the Promoter. North Dakota’s government recommends masks be worn, however, we are not in a position to enforce the laws. We have had the luxury of hindsight and we would like to apologize to those who disagree with our decision to fulfill our contractual agreement. The Promoter and staff were nothing but professional and assured us of the safety precautions. Our intent was simply to perform our gig, outside, in a welcoming, small town. We value the health and safety of each and every one of our fans, as well as our American and global community. We are far from perfect.”
Ex-Great White singer Jack Russell clarified stating he had nothing to do with the North Dakota performance. In the below video, he stated:
“Hey, this is Jack Russell from Jack Russell’s Great White. I heard a nasty rumor going around that we played in North Dakota on Thursday night. Let me just tell you one thing: We haven’t played under the name ‘Great White’ in almost 11 years. This is Jack Russell of Jack Russell’s Great White. If it doesn’t say ‘Jack Russell’s Great White,’ it’s not me or my band.
I just want it to be known that we take this COVID thing very, very seriously, and everybody should be wearing a mask and people should be social distancing. And if you’re not doing that, you’re not doing your part. So, take it to task and wear a mask.”
Regardless of all of the above, Great White are scheduled to perform in Sturgis, SD on August 12th:
According to health.nd.gov, North Dakota has a total of 4,334 COVID-19 cases, 38 currently hospitalized, and 87 deaths. South Dakota currently has 7,499 coronavirus cases and 109 COVID-19 deaths. On July 12th, there’s a total of 58,349 new coronavirus cases in the United States as the daily U.S COVID-19 deaths continue to fluctuate between 300 – 1000.
