Just because large venues like Red Rocks aren’t hosting performances any time soon doesn’t mean that live music is out for the summer. It just means the shows will have to get more intimate. This is just what the Lone Tree Arts Center is offering with its Tunes on the Terrace series, making an eagerly hoped-for return on July 24.
“Knowing that people may be `testing the waters’ as they come back to live performances, we decided to begin with our outdoor concert series and with a small audience in order to make people more comfortable,” explained Lisa Rigsby Peterson, executive director of the arts center in an email interview. “The arts have always had the power to inspire and heal and comfort - and reopening the Arts Center and welcoming people back into our building allows us to be a part of that healing.”
The Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., is kicking off its 2020-2021 season with this popular concert series, which runs through Sept. 12. After being granted permission from the state to reopen at a limited capacity, this year’s series begins with Mary Louise Lee Band, includes Set Sail: A Yacht Rock Experience, Soul-X and Hazel Miller and The Collective, and concludes with Billy and The Downliners.
“We are putting the safety of our staff, our artists, and our patrons at the forefront of all of our planning,” Rigsby said. “We know that we will refine our protocols and procedures as research findings continue to evolve.”
Like everything in a COVID-19 world, this season’s Tunes on the Terrace will look different than any before. According to Rigsby, staff surveyed patrons to learn about what would make them feel the most comfortable returning to the arts center. Based on those responses, two of the most noticeable changes will be that instead of the regular 350 seat capacity, the audience will be limited to 100 people, and masks will be required unless eating or drinking while seated.
Additionally, the chairs and lawn seating areas will all have at least 6 feet of social distancing between parties. The performers will be 25 feet from the audience, and audiences will see visual cues for patrons to help them follow traffic paths through the lobby. Hand sanitizer will be readily available for anyone who needs it.
Since shutting down in March, the arts center has postponed about 20 concerts and programs, but in May efforts began to offer more community connection through events like virtual concerts and live-streams of its Arts in the Afternoon series. The center has relied on a large base of donors to keep running, and a special online fundraising campaign called Set the Stage has been launched to help.
“We will be welcoming our patrons back and thanking them for their collective commitment to keeping themselves and the entire arts center family as safe as possible,” Rigsby said. “One thing that won’t be at all different? The fabulous artists and uplifting performances that our audiences will be thrilled to see.”
Call 720 509-1000 or visit www.lonetreeartscenter.org for tickets and information.
Get an evening out to help The Action Center
Red Rocks Community Church is hosting a pop-up drive-in theater screening of “Ferdinand” to benefit The Action Center in the church’s parking lot at 5810 W. Alameda Ave on Tuesday, July 21. Parking begins at 7:45 p.m. and the movie begins at 8:30 p.m. Kona Ice’s flavor shaved ice will on hand as well.
Attendees must maintain social distancing, stay in their vehicle and wear a mask anytime they’re outside of their vehicle. The cost is $10 per vehicle, and attendees must register in advance to attend. Buy tickets at www.eventbrite.com/e/alameda-connects-acbid-drive-in-movie-night-tickets-112129975776.
Clarke’s Concert of the Week - Charles Sawtelle Memorial Mountain Jam
Some traditions are too established to let something like a global pandemic entirely slow them down, and KGNU’s Annual Charles Sawtelle Memorial Mountain Jam - now in its 32nd year - certainly qualifies.
This year’s event will be the “2020 Safer-at-Home” Edition and will be live-streamed from noon to about 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 19. It benefits KGNU and this year’s performers are the Cody Sisters, River Arkansas and Bowregard.
The concert is free, but donations are welcome and encouraged. RSVP at www.KGNU.org by noon on Saturday, July 18 to receive a streaming link.
Streaming style - ‘DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’
No comic-related television show captures the sheer comic-book fun of “Legends of Tomorrow.” Lead by Sara Lance (the always fantastic Caity Lotz), the show gathers misfit characters from other series like “Arrow” and “The Flash,” and turns them into a time-traveling, wise-cracking family.
With writing so sharp and full of jokes and comic fan Easter eggs, you’ll need to watch it more than once. And you can catch all five seasons on Netflix.
Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.
