Oklahoma City Venue Plans First Concert Since Start Of Pandemic

The Tower Theatre on NW 23rd St. in Oklahoma City announced Monday it plans to hold its first concert in more than six months. 

Manager Stephen Tyler said during the event, dubbed “An Evening with Bonnie Bishop,” the audience will be seated restaurant-style. 

“This is not a return to the normal concert-going model,” Tyler said. “This is a completely different affair than what we’ve ever done before.” 

The theater’s capacity will be shrunk by 80%, from more than 1,000 to 204 seats. Table service will be provided and there will be no walk-up bar. 

Tickets will only be sold in groups to encourage attendants to come with close friends. 

“This is not necessarily a time for socializing, as much as it’s a time to experience the music and experience what’s happening here, which is what we want to get back to,” Tyler said. 

Venues centered around performances and music concerts have suffered financially since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Last week, the city council of Oklahoma City approved of using $2 million in federal relief funding for a grant program aimed at performance venues. 

Tyler said that program, coupled with other factors like the city’s mask mandate gave him and other managers confidence to try reopening, albeit in a limited capacity. 

Operating in a pandemic, Tyler said, has led them to change everything about how their business operates. 

“We don’t know if this is going to work but we have this amazing room, this amazing set of people and we have a vision for what it can be, and we’re going to charge towards that,” he said.