LOCAL

'Safe and fun'

Sell-out crowd turns out for final night of Zeiterion concert series

Tim Dunn
Contributing Writer
Whale's Tooth parking lot was filled for the Zeiterion Drive In Concert with Ryan Montbleau.

NEW BEDFORD — Seven days of live concerts and free movies wrapped up Friday night at the Whale’s Tooth parking lot in New Bedford, where a sellout crowd enjoyed a live performance from the popular Massachusetts-born musician Ryan Montbleau while also keeping to social distancing guidelines.

The week-long concert series, organized and hosted by the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, saw four live, drive-in concerts and the screening of three movies. The theater created the series back in March, when Massachusetts joined the rest of the country in imposing shutdowns and business restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had our first cancellation of shows on March 12th, right around when everything was getting canceled, so the drive-ins are our response to not being able to gather in the building. We needed to be innovative and clever to find a way to bring fun and performing arts to the community,” said Zeiterion Executive Director Rosemary Gill.

“About a month or so ago when we realized that we had this opportunity to utilize the parking lot we reached out to performers to see who was available.”

With the opportunity to enjoy live entertainment at a premium over the past few months, the concert series also brought in people from out of the SouthCoast area, as some cars were spotted with Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and even Maine license plates.

Doris Wells, of Boston, heard of the series through social media and decided to jump on the opportunity to enjoy live, outdoor entertainment for the first time in months.

“My friend Tom and I drove down from Boston because we’re huge Ryan Montbleau fans and we were so excited New Bedford is actually having live music and one of our favorite performers. It was absolutely worth the trip. It’s really nice to get out,” Wells said.

New Bedford resident Jon Leaver said he last saw Montbleau perform with his daughter back in February, right before COVID-19 began to take its grip on the country.

“This is the first show outside we can see,” he said. “I’ve seen Montbleau quite a few times. My daughter and I just saw him when he was at The Narrows in February. This is great. My daughter is a few cars over with her friends. I’m hanging in my spot with some of my friends that I met here. It’s a great time with good music.”

With the concert series remaining a popular attraction throughout the week, Gill says it was important to develop a suitable setup in order to maintain social distancing guidelines as Massachusetts continues through Phase 2 of Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan. The theater's plan was simple, yet effective, having cars park in every other parking spot with concertgoers permitted to use the open space to the left of their vehicles.

“The unique experience of the drive-in and cars makes for a natural barrier that provides opportunity to remain socially distanced. So, we had to make sure we’re not parking every car. We’re doing every other car, sort of a checkerboard scenario. People are also being asked to stay in their spot, which is to the left of their vehicle and are asked to wear masks if they are out of their vehicle. All the music is being broadcast with an FM transmitter, so if they’re not comfortable getting out of their car they’re able to sit comfortably and listen from the car,” said Gill.

“No food vendors either, but we did encourage people to pick up dinner at local restaurants and bring it in. We told people they’re welcome to bring food and refreshments in. No alcohol or smoking, of course. But, it’s just a great family-friendly event. There’s families and kids and grandparents and they will be dancing soon. It’s just fun. While we can’t be in the theater we know we can still do this.”

Mayor Jon Mitchell introduced the event in a video previewing the series, thanking the Zeiterion for making the seven-day event possible while also adhering to state guidelines on social distancing.

“Through the great work of the Zeiterion and city employees and so many others, you’re going to see a great production tonight that is safe and fun,” said Mitchell.

“COVID-19 has forced us to adjust in so many ways and to be creative. That’s what you’re seeing tonight. I want to thank the Zeiterion for all of their work.”

Gill said the concert series saw a strong turnout with approximately 130 cars selling out the final show Friday night. She added the series also sold out Wednesday night and saw another strong turnout Thursday night that almost reached sellout capacity.

“I just want to really commend people for coming out under these circumstances and following the rules and being willing to follow the rules. It’s been really terrific that way, for the most part. Everybody has been super cooperative and we hope to do more of it,” Gill said.

Ryan Montbleau performs at the Whale's Tooth Parking Lot for the Zeiterion Drive-In series.