Corey Taylor Clarifies Covid-19 Guidelines on Spring Solo Tour
Corey Taylor’s announcement earlier this week that he’d be embarking on a tour with his solo band this spring, billed as “Covid-19 safe,” was met with as much criticism as it was celebration, with many wondering aloud whether it’s too soon for such an endeavor (even with safety precautions in place) and others worried that state-recommended health guidelines in certain places are too lax.
In a new op-ed for Rolling Stone, Taylor himself has clarified the tour’s Covid-19 policy, and it turns out the run will be more cautiously conducted than previously indicated. While the tour’s initial PR push claimed that each show would follow the Covid-19 guidelines of the state or municipality in which it takes place, Taylor has now assured fans that there will be a blanket set of regulations enforced by the tour regardless of location, saying “we knew we had to do it right.” Naturally this has some folks who live in places with more lax rules a bit upset, but has largely been greeted with approval by skeptics of the tour’s very existence.
In the op-ed, which largely focuses on the “outrage age” of “cancel culture,” Taylor explains of his decision to book the tour and the safety guidelines that will be in place:
“Not too many days ago, the anniversary of The Great Lockdown was rung in with growing news and hope of a turn back towards the sun, as it were. So it’s almost serendipitous that I’m preparing to announce a pseudo mini-tour, balanced with all the social distancing and precautions in place, to gauge the state of our union.
“To most, it’ll only seem like a ploy to get back out there for people to fall and fawn for the songs I love to play, but to me and everyone in my industry, we know that there are thousands of people who depend on us to make their livings, and they need the great gears to churn and the rust to fall away from the “‘live scene” so we can all get back to work. It’s the life’s blood for millions: the people who book us, the clubs who host us, the techs and management who help us, the drivers on our busses, the bands who accompany us, the promoters who start the screaming and finally, the fans we bring the show to because they need it just as much as we do, after 365 days stuck in our caves. People need release and we’re ready to give it to them.
“As much as we wanted it, we knew we had to do it right — too much riding on it, from our health to our pocketbooks. We knew we’d have to get down to the minutiae to make sure we were doing it by the book, regardless of what local or state mandates were or were not in place. We are going to have pod seating, temp checks, social distancing, masks at all times except in those pods, waivers signed saying you understand what’s up, etc.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean that people aren’t going to see one headline announcing the tour and assume that we’re not taking any of those precautions. Come to think of it, most people only read the headline for any story, and head straight for the meltdown without even taking a second to see if their suspicions are correct or not. They are only interested in joining the choruses of the incorrigible, the hordes of the abhorrent who keep little love in their hearts because they’re too busy looking for the next big thing to hate.”
You can read the full op-ed here. Dates for the tour, which will feature Corey’s wife Alicia’s dance troupe, The Cherry Bombs, as openers, are below:
May 18 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee Backyard
May 20 – Lubbock, TX – Lonestar Event Center
May 21 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center
May 22 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
May 24 – Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Outdoors
May 26 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
May 28 – St. Louis, MO – Pop’s
May 29 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
May 30 – Chattanooga, TN – The Signal
June 01 – Belvidere, IL – The Apollo Theatre
June 03 – Green Bay, WI – Epic Event Center
June 05 – Fort Wayne, IN – Piere’s Entertainment Center
June 07 – Joliet, IL – The Forge
June 11 – Detroit, MI – Harpo’s
June 12 – East Moline, IL – Rust Belt
June 15 – Dubuque, IA – Five Flags Event Center
June 17 – Des Moines, IA – Horizon Event Center
June 18 – Wichita, KS – The Cotillion Ballroom
June 19 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
