Indonesia: Drive-in live musical concert draws large crowd amid coronavirus

Drawing a crowd of about 900 people in 300 cars, the Indonesian pop band Kahitna had a Drive-in live musical concert amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The audience attended the concert in huge turnout as they remained seated inside a queue of hundreds of cars parked at some distance from the stage. In photos of the show that emerged online, the eight band members were seen performing live as listeners honked and flashed lights to the popular, sentimental hit tunes "Cerita Cinta" or "Love Story” and other soundtracks from the band’s 1990s albums. 

The cars were also tuned into FM radio channel, as they turned up the blasting music on the night of August 29 as loud music engulfed the surrounding areas. Despite a Drive-in show, where people hadn’t stepped out of their vehicles due to the ongoing coronavirus, the concert hosts had adhered to the health safety measures and followed guidelines amid the recent surge in cases.

According to the local media reports, the organizers had issued the protocol for the audience to stay in their cars as they had gathered in large numbers, and had made the protective face covering mandatory. Listeners were asked to wear masks inside the cars for safety. Additionally, the attendees were asked to provide a negative COVID-19 test report prior to the show when the tickets sold out. This comes as Indonesia had hit the highest single-day tally for the third consecutive day. As many as 7,261 fatalities and 170,000 total confirmed cases have been recorded in the country so far. 

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'Hope' for failing music industry

Organizers were quoted by the local media as saying that the music industry had suffered a massive loss due to the economy shut down for four to five months and the artists had no money. The concert was organized to experiment with how the music industry can resume health safety precautions in place. Chaeruddin Syah, one of the concert organizers reportedly said that the success of the show would give aspirations and hope to the failing music industry and hopefully the entertainment can once again pick up. While Indonesia continues to battle the rising cases of COVID-19, the governor announced the reopening of the cinema halls soon, without providing the tentative dates. Restrictions on public transport and a large assembly of people remain in place. With strict health safety measures, the musicians and their crews who have struggling to make ends meet due to the pandemic can still make it work, a listener in the audience was quoted saying in a local media report. 

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