Update: Austin Venue Pushes Ahead With Local Independence Day Shows, Vanilla Ice Postpones

Vanilla Ice has released a statement that his July 3 show at Emerald Point Bar And Grill in Austin will be postponed as the number of COVID-19 cases surge throughout Texas.

“Due to the increase in COVID-19 numbers in Austin we’re gonna move the concert to a better date,” Vanilla Ice wrote on Twitter. “We were hoping for better Coronavirus numbers by July but unfortunately the numbers have increased quite a bit so for the safety and health of everyone we’re going to stay home.”

A venue representative told Pollstar all upcoming performances from national touring acts (Coolio, Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc) have been canceled or postponed, but shows from local acts are still going ahead as scheduled with social distancing and COVID-19 protections in place. 

While some Texans grow anxious as the state records a rise in COVID-19 cases, Emerald Point Bar And Grill in Austin plans to go ahead with a series of shows over Independence Day weekend including a performance from Vanilla Ice on July 3.

A representative of the restaurant – whose outdoor beach venue has a 5,000-person capacity when granted a mass gathering permit – told Pollstar all events are being held with a series of COVID-19 protections in place and the venue has been hosting concerts since it was allowed to reopen on May 1. 

Some of the COVID protections in place include reduced capacity to 450 GA, plywood barriers to indicate safe distancing for audience members, masks distributed at the entrance, and mandatory temperature checks (and denial of entry for anyone with temperature above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

For the Independence Day Throwback Beach Party featuring Vanilla Ice organizers told Pollstar they have sold approximately 84 GA tickets, a massive drop from last year, when the same show headlined by Vanilla Ice sold 1,800 tickets in four days. 

Other artists performing at the venue this weekend include Island Mind on July 2, The Chuck Shaw Band on July 3 (inside), The Spazmatics and Color Me Badd on July 4, Suede on July 4 (inside), and Audic Empire on July 5. 

The drop in ticket sales may relate to a recent uptick of COVID-19 cases in Austin and the state of Texas. Austin Public Health officials held a press conference July 1, saying Austin-Travis County is expected to pass 10,000 cases and cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. According to KVUE-TV the Austin area broke the three-day record for new cases reported from June 27-29 and Mayor Steve Adler is mulling over a stay-at-home order. 

“Now is the time. Right now, today, this weekend, the next several weeks are critical for us to make real changes to protect ourselves, to protect our families and protect our community,” Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority and Public Health Medical Director for the City of Austin – Travis County, said at the press conference. 

A representative of the Emerald Point Bar And Grill told Pollstar that as long as they are allowed to be open and host gatherings they will do so in the safest and most responsible way they see possible, and if the government mandates that they should close or cancel events, they will comply. 

One Austin venue owner recently told Pollstar they were worried some venues in Austin were reopening before the disease was properly under control and if an extended stay-at-home were to be issued, it could crush businesses that were taking on additional expenses of re-hiring staff, installing precautionary measures, and booking additional shows. 

Pollstar has received reports that several Austin venues have decided to close permanently since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the cancellation of SXSW and an industry-wide shutdown across the U.S.