Following the COVID-19 restrictions, Travis Tritt announced that he would cancel all of his upcoming shows at venues that met the requirements. This resulted in the cancellation of several performances. The announcement was made on Monday, with impacted shows in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Illinois, and Kentucky being canceled as a result.
The fear-mongering narrative is breaking down. People who stand up against this narrative scare the hell out of those who promote fear. Hold the line and stand strong. 🇺🇸🎸
— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) October 19, 2021
While some artists have chosen not to perform at venues that do not require mandatory vaccination, and others have chosen not to perform at venues that do require mandatory vaccination, Tritt is canceling any shows that have any mitigation measures in place at all, including the wearing of masks or providing a negative test in lieu of being fully vaccinated, according to a statement.
According to Tritt, “I'm putting my money where my mouth is and declaring that any venue or promoter who mandates masks, mandates vaccinations, or forces COVID testing protocols on my fans will not be tolerated.”
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“This is a sacrifice that I'm willing to make in order to defend the freedoms that generations of Americans have enjoyed throughout their entire lives,” says the author.
Existing shows that were not subject to any restrictions prior to the decision are unaffected by the decision.
Vaccination requirements for live entertainment have become a divisive issue as the industry attempts to recover from a lengthy shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. From now until the end of the year, all those who wish to attend Broadway performances must be fully immunized, with no option to opt-out if a negative test is performed. In order to protect their employees, Live Nation Entertainment and AEG Presents have implemented vaccination requirements, with some exceptions in states where it is mandated by law, such as Florida and Texas. However, most event attendees appear to be content with meeting whatever requirements are put in place, at least for the time being, in order to avoid the large-scale shutdowns that have characterized the past year and a half.
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“Travis Tritt cancels tour because of COVID mandates” 🧐😅 pic.twitter.com/zJkazQBZHJ
— LeGate (@williamlegate) October 20, 2021
Tritt's decision has elicited a range of reactions, with some fans applauding him for standing up for their right not to be vaccinated and others portraying him as a pariah for taking such a firm stance against what most scientists agree are commonsense precautions during a pandemic.
As a result of Tritt's announcement, one Twitter user, @ljvilardo, wrote, “You have disgraced yourself and totally disappointed so many people who followed you!!!” The following statement was made by me: “I will never attend another one of your concerts, nor will I ever listen to a single song of yours again!! You have sold our soul to the devil!! “You are absolutely pitiful!!”
Tweeted @EppsCody, who identified himself as a long-time admirer of the artist. “The fact that you had to cancel some of your concerts because you didn't want to reveal whether or not you got poked makes me like you even more.”
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Another line of reasoning has been advanced, which suggests that the “freedom”-related stance may simply be a smokescreen to cancel shows that were not performing well at the box office. Some of the impacted events had a large number of unsold seats, which could have made an excuse for postponement or cancellation an attractive one, particularly if it appealed to a specific type of consumer who happens to be well represented in the fanbase that artists such as Tritt are attempting to reach.
