On March 12, Awakening Events pushed pause on five national concert tours. Being a national tour producer, Awakening Events was not faced with a stand-alone venue challenge but taking music to the people coast to coast. The idea for these outdoor live concerts first came about during discussions with the innovative team behind NEWSBOYS. The concept, a first-of-its-kind for Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) since the advent of the COVID-19 crisis, will showcase the best in CCM through a series of concerts and will include shows from Platinum®-selling hitmakers Newsboys United, Multi Platinum®-, Seven Time GRAMMY®-Winner TobyMac, and more.
“Everyone was looking for answers on what we could do to play live again. The NEWSBOYS management team sent an email reminding me of a series of self-contained blow-up dome shows they did from 2000 – 2004. Then a week later they sent an email saying ‘Dan, look at this list of Drive-Ins.’ It was the spark that created the fire we all have to do what we do, again. Then immediately came discussions with our other long-time national touring artist relationships at Creative Artist Agency. Through the course of our discussions, we quickly realized that there was an even bigger opportunity for the CCM industry to serve America during this time.”, said Dan Fife, President of Awakening Events.
“Awakening Events has been producing concerts nationwide for years and their heart and desire to minister while providing quality entertainment made them the perfect partner for this concept” said long-time NEWSBOYS manager Wes Campbell. He also added, “the Drive-in Theater Tour concept allows fans to gather together again in a safe and sensible environment while taking part in the live concert experiences that both NEWSBOYS and TOBYMAC have been known for providing for years.”
“We are so excited to be able to come and play to fans all across America” said Michael Tait, lead singer of NEWSBOYS United. “COVID-19 has changed all of our lives, but through it, we have learned that love is patient and love is kind. Now we have the opportunity to come together safely and express our love for our Creator who has been with us through these trying times.”
“A few Saturday nights every summer my family and I head to a local drive in move theater. We always love it” said TobyMac. “When we started discussing live shows in this quarantine season and the idea of playing drive-ins came up… I said, let’s gooooo! It feels like summer, safe for everybody, and we all get to enjoy live music again. We bout to make some memories”
To help accommodate those that have been isolating together, tickets to the tours will be sold by the car, ensuring that fans will be able to experience the concerts with those closest to them, while also adhering to all state and local social distancing guidelines.
Full list of cities and dates for the tour will be released this Friday, May 22, at 12pm central time via the tour’s website DriveInTheaterTour.com The Drive-In Theater Tour is exclusively produced by Awakening Events.
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