After a long, desolate year for the music industry, Knoxville can expect to see an uptick in concerts and festivals sooner than expected. Garrett Thomson and Kent Oglesby of Born & Raised Productions announced their next music venture this morning, and BLANK Newspaper is happy to share it with you first.
On Thursday, May 20, Nashville’s Moon Taxi will be performing at Knoxville’s recently renovated World’s Fair Park for the city’s first ever pod concert. Thomson felt the time finally had come to take advantage of the spacious park, making it “the first major music event on that lawn since the renovation,” as he says. Moon Taxi is touring in support of their fifth full-length studio album Silver Dream.
Due to the pandemic, the music industry has been one of the largest industries to take a hit. With little opportunity for gathering, Thomson and Oglesby knew they had to adapt. “We’re survivors,” says Thomson. “We’ve found a lot of unique ways to stay relevant and also to stay profitable.” After using their unexpected downtime to create podcasts, get their merchandise sales in motion, film videos for local artists and reevaluate the industry, Thomson and Oglesby knew they would be “prepared to come out quickly,” as Thomson says.
THE DEAL
The concert will feature three sizes of pods, each one consisting of two, four or six people and placed six feet from one another throughout the lawn. With a large video screen also on the lawn, Thomson assures that there won’t be a bad seat in the house. Sanitation stations will be scattered throughout the grounds, easily accessible to everyone. There will be plenty of restrooms, as well. Each attendant will be asked to respond to a questionnaire concerning their health prior to entry, and masks will be required for any patron who leaves their designated pod area. And Thomson and Oglesby are taking even more steps to insure they provide a safe space for people to gather, enjoy music and support the local community.
Food trucks and beverages will be available throughout the event, and perhaps the best part of the experience is that there will be no standing in lines. Born & Raised has partnered with tech company Noble in order to allow food, drinks and merchandise to be ordered, paid for and delivered without patrons having to leave their designated pod area. “You’ll order for your pod on the app, and one of our bartenders or runners will bring it to you, so it’s kind of a VIP experience,” says Thomson. Born & Raised will be hiring for such positions, providing much needed service jobs for experienced workers in an industry that has struggled in the last year. Thomson and Oglesby also will be partnering with Keep Knoxville Beautiful to maintain the grounds prior to, during and after the festival, and they will be donating a portion of the proceeds back to the organization.
BLANK Newspaper is an official media sponsor of the event. It is a welcome collaboration between the production company and this publication, as they have worked together on several projects over the years. Most recently, Born & Raised Productions provided the Silent Disco for the Second Bell Monster Mash Drive in Festival this past Halloween.
TIX
Tickets will be sold in two-person, four-person, and six-person pods. Six-person pods will be $60 per person. Four-person pods will be $70 per person. Two person pods will be $80 per person. There will also be premium pods available guaranteeing a spot in the first few rows. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 19th at 10:00 am. Pods will be assigned in the order in which they are bought, so the earlier the pod is purchased, the closer to the stage it will be.
Access to a limited presale will be available by joining the Born & Raised mailing list at www.bornandraisedknox.com. You might want to do that now.
According to Thomson, all you need is a chair or your favorite blanket and the rest will be taken care of. “I hope that people are ready for music to come back this year,” he says. “It’s therapy, it’s a moral boost, it drives economic activity, but it provides opportunity for community and civic pride, too.”
Support for this event is provided by Miller Lite, White Claw, Sierra Nevada, Axle Logistics and Grayson Auto.
For more information about this event including tickets, COVID guidelines and FAQ visit bornandraisedknox.com.
