‘A venue outside of our venue’: Drive-in concerts in Anaheim go steady for the foreseeable future

Concert-goers have been honking their horns and flashing their lights in approval of one of the few ways to see shows during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rooftops and parking lots in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Tustin, Irvine and Westminster have become venues making use of California car culture to bring a drive-in model for movies and live performances.

Nederlander Concerts launched the Drive-In OC concert series at City National Grove of Anaheim last summer and have been offering a steady lineup including Fitz & the Tantrums, Banda El Recodo, La Sonora Dinamita, Iliza Shlesinger, Ziggy Marley, Tori Kelly and Kaskade.

They’ve hosted about 60 concerts and comedy shows grossing over $3.4 million in ticket sales with nearly every performance selling out.

The most recent acts announced are overwhelmingly of the electronic dance music variety. Desert Hearts is set to perform on March 19, Whethan on March 20, ARMNHMR on March 26 and 27 and CloZee on April 17.

“The reason that we keep coming back to EDM is because there isn’t a whole band that has to get together, travel, bring in a bunch of equipment and rehearse,” said Jordan Harding, general manager of the City National Grove of Anaheim. “A DJ can come to Drive-In OC, walk up on stage and just start performing.”

The concerts are designed to be as contactless as possible.

Tickets are sold per car with a maximum of five people. Temperature checks are conducted at the gate upon entry and vehicles are parked 10 feet apart from each other giving some space on the driver’s side for folding chairs. Some stay in their cars (or on top) while others opt to use their small outdoor space. There’s an app to queue for restrooms while food can be pre-ordered with tickets and delivered to your car.

Audience members sit on top of their cars for a view of Kaskade at the outdoor stage of the Drive-In OC series in October 2020.

(Courtesy of Steve Thrasher)

Harding worked with the city and the state’s department of public health to coordinate the drive-in concerts in the venue’s parking lot.

For the first performances, Harding booked Dana Point singer-songwriter Andrew McMahon for three sets. The shows sold out with 274 cars per set in the venue’s parking lot and 4,000 additional viewers paid to watch the livestream at home.

Since the series launched last year, every show has been an opportunity for improved tweaks. The venue started out using an FM transmission exclusively but later began to offer both radio and a traditional PA sound system. They changed their seven-people-per-car maximum to five people in order to manage social distancing. They’ve also increased capacity to 300 vehicles in the parking lot and invested in a larger and higher stage.

Singer-songwriter Andrew McMahon performed in the first concert of the Drive-In OC series in July 2020.

(Courtesy of Steve Thrasher)

“We’re increasingly receiving calls from artists and their teams asking, ‘How do we get involved in this?’ Artists are anxious to perform,” Harding said.

Singer-songwriter Quinn XCII was eager to share his latest album “Change of Scenery II” with a live audience. Postponing the release of new music never crossed his mind. Instead, he felt more motivated than before and turned what he intended to be an EP into a full-length album.

“We have done a few drive-in shows already so the decision to put on another one for the album was a no brainer,” wrote Quinn via email. “They’ve proven to be a really great escape for fans and a temporary alternative to what we think of as a normal live show. I want as many people as possible to experience the new music live for the first time and that’s where bringing in the livestream component came into play.”

Quinn is set to perform a sold-out show on March 11 at 7 p.m. with a livestream available for free.

Although the drive-in series is mitigating some of the venue’s financial damage and keeping about 75% of staff employed, Harding said it’s not a permanent replacement for live shows because it’s not a sustainable business model.

“We created a venue outside of our venue,” Harding said. “We’re gonna keep it rockin’ until we can get back into hosting shows indoors at a viable capacity ... These shows are really unusual, and you don’t really know what it’s like until you’ve been to one. I think people will look back at the pandemic and talk about these driving concerts as a highlight.”

If you go

What: Drive-In OC
When: Deserts Hearts Takeover on March 19, Whethan on March 20, ARMNHMR on March 26 and 27, CloZee on April 17
Where: 2200 East Katella Avenue, Anaheim
Cost: $180 to $400 per car
Info: citynationalgroveofanaheim.com

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