PORT TOWNSEND — The Wheel-In Motor Movie will be among 300 drive-ins in the United States and Canada to screen country superstar Garth Brooks’ virtual concert on Saturday.
Tickets at $100 per carload were still being sold nationwide on Saturday after a surge of 750,000 people onto the Ticketmaster site crashed the system shortly after they went on sale at noon Friday. The concert may be sold out by today. To find out, go to the Wheel-In website at http://ptwheelinmotormovie.com and click on the link for the Brooks concert.
The one-night show will be screened from 9:45 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. at the theater at 210 Theater Road off state Highway 19.
The concert, created in Nashville, Tenn., will follow guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as all state and local health mandates in regard to COVID-19 safety precautions.
That includes rules on spacing between vehicles, protective equipment for staff, contactless payment and limited capacity in restrooms the Wheel-In’s owner, Rick Wiley, put into place when he reopened four weeks ago.
The drive-in has offered double features on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights since May 29. Reservations are online only at http://ptwheelinmotor movie.com. Takeout fare is delivered to the individual cars by workers wearing face masks and gloves.
Up to 70 cars are allowed each night. Each carload is $15 for his regular feature nights. This weekend, he offers “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” in honor of Fathers Day and “The Graduate” in honor of the high school graduation season.
Brooks said in a statement that the drive-in concert “allows us all to get back to playing live music without the uncertainty of what would be the result to us as a community.”
Each show will accommodate some 250 to 300 vehicles, which in total could match the attendance figures of his now-paused stadium performances, Brooke said when he announced the show.
“We are excited because this is a reason to get out of the house, but at the same time you get to follow all the COVID-19 rules from every individual state and you get to have fun and stay within the guidelines of social distancing … we’re calling it ‘social distancing partying.’”
Produced by Encore Live, the concert is billed as being the largest ever one-night show to play at outdoor theaters across North America.
“Families need safe entertainment options that they can enjoy together this summer,” Encore Live founder and CEO Walter Kinzie said in a statement.
“We’re excited to partner with Garth, who’s already done so much to help the entertainment industry during these tough times, to provide a truly unique and incredible concert that will do a whole lot of good for local businesses and communities.”
Brooks has performed modified concerts since the pandemic’s onset, including a prime time special from his home studio and a headlining slot at an empty Grand Ole Opry.
