You could hear the strain and anxiety in Mick Sterling's voice this week as he talked about wrangling 50 bands and all the production logistics involved in what he's ironically calling the Relief Sessions.
"I've booked a lot of shows before, but not with this many acts, 12 days in a row of them," said the veteran Twin Cities rock and soul singer.
You could also hear how excited Sterling was to be offering Twin Cities music lovers what he described as "a much-needed distraction from everything else."
Staged at the Burnsville Ice Center parking lot off Interstate 35 (about 17 miles south of Minneapolis), the Relief Sessions is a drive-in concert series featuring four or five bands per day and pretty strict adherence to social distancing and other Minnesota COVID-19 guidelines.
Among the acts selling advance tickets in the series ($10-$30 per person) are the Suburbs, Flamin' Oh's, Joyann Parker, Chris Hawkey, International Reggae All-Stars, Maurice Jacox, Sara Renner, Sherwin Linton, Patty Peterson's Jazz Women All-Stars and Sunday night's headliner GB Leighton, plus a slew of tribute shows honoring the likes of Prince, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Billy Joel (the latter two are the Friday and Saturday finales, respectively).
A couple of acts will also perform for free every day from noon to 5 p.m., with first-come, first-served admission. Among them are Salsa del Soul, Lolo's Ghost, Tim Mahoney, Hailey James, the Miss Myra Duo and the Native Pride Dancers. Attendance will be capped at 250 people per set.
After hosting a series of Friday night concerts under the same guise in June and July, Sterling believes the setup is "as safe as we can make it." That includes food trucks on-site that will deliver text or phone orders (menus handed out upon arrival).
"It's outdoors, the [parking] spaces are distanced, the musicians and crew wear masks whenever possible, everything we know to do," he said.
