Dear Friends of the Harvester, 


Harvester Performance Center closed its doors March 14 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a staff, we didn’t know how long our hiatus would be, but we were certain about one thing: We had to find a way to continue bringing live music to our fans in Southwest Virginia and beyond. 
 
Just three weeks later, we started hosting livestream events from our concert hall. We hosted more than 20 “Living Room Live” and “Party on the Patio” virtual shows, supporting local artists during a time when other opportunities were not available.

By May we realized that we could no longer host indoor shows safely. When we learned that the risk of transmitting the virus seemed to be less outdoors, we quickly began our planning for outdoor, open-air shows. We created a COVID-19 safety plan including social distancing and our now-famous 7.5-foot-wide circles, temperature checks, masks and more. 

When the governor gave the green light for larger outdoor social gatherings, we put our plan into action and held our first Harvester Outdoors show featuring local favorites Tin Can Locomotive on July 3. 
We hosted a total of seven shows in July, including Crawford & Power, Darrell Scott, Mountain Heart, Legacy Motown Revue, Sara Evans and Atlanta Rhythm Section.

After being deprived of live music for nearly four months, standing outside in downtown Rocky Mount and hearing music flow through the streets was therapeutic. Everyone’s mood lifted. Throughout the month, our staff was heartened by the praise our fans heaped on the outdoor venue.

However, things are still very uncertain. The pandemic continues to disrupt our lives and threaten our health. So after careful consideration and much deliberation, we have decided to take another pause to protect the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, artists, fans, and the broader community. Atlanta Rhythm Section’s performance July 25 was the last for the Harvester for the 2020 season.

We have already rescheduled nearly all the shows from 2020, and all tickets will be transferred to the new dates. We will also be involved in a few smaller, off-site events, where it’s easy for folks to keep distance. [Be sure to check out Art at The Coves, a weekend art and music series organized to benefit Smith Mountain Arts Council.]

We want to express our sincere appreciation to our fans and to the Town of Rocky Mount for supporting our efforts. Thank you to the artists who took a chance on Harvester Outdoors. And thank you to our staff and volunteers for their ideas, flexibility and dedication to the Harvester. We couldn’t have pulled this off without any of you.

Until our next show, be sure to keep up with Harvester news on our website and Facebook page, and remember: The music will return!
 

Check rescheduled show dates
 
SHOW DATES
Questions? Contact the box office:
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