SHINEDOWN singer Brent Smith spoke to Nikki of the FM99 WNOR radio station about what the touring circuit might look like post-pandemic. He said (see video below): "It's going to come back. It's gonna have to come back in a way that is… There's gonna be different protocol. But don't have a knee-jerk reaction when someone says 'the new normal,' because that could be, and should be, a good thing. Because a lot of what I'm seeing, and a lot of the discussions I've been in with a lot of the people that we've worked with for over two decades now — from our trucking, our buses, our lighting, our pyrotechnics, our staging; all of these types of elements — that infrastructure, and the buildings and the festivals and the clubs and the theaters and the stadiums, they're all doing the infrastructure right now to massively take the sanitation level and standard way up. So when you come into these buildings and stuff like that, it's not nasty, it's not dirty — it's clean. And adding these things to where it's keeping people accountable for things. "One of the biggest things that we know is that the UV light therapy is huge for that, because it just annihilates a lot of viruses," he continued. "A lot of that's been in the news here lately, but there's a lot of arenas right now, there's a lot of different places — clubs, theaters — that are getting ready to be able to have that standard to make their environment clean for their patrons and make it safe for everybody to come in. And that's not a bad thing." Smith went on to say that he is confident live concerts will eventually return. "It may take a moment," he said. "It will obviously take certain people a little longer ot feel comfortable, but I make you a very real and solid promise. The number one thing — and we were always doing this before this pandemic happened — but I wanna rest everyone assured, from us to our fanbase, whether you've been there from the beginning or you're just finding out who we are, when it is time, and we can be with each other again, your safety will always be the number one priority — not only your physical safety, but your health, your mental health… But we will never, ever sacrifice, and we will never cut corners when it comes to the public safety of our audience, no matter what country we're playing. So please rest assured we would never put you in a dangerous environment like that. We will be with each other again. It may take a little bit of time. But always know that we always have your safety as our number one priority." This past May, SHINEDOWN officially canceled its previously rescheduled "Deep Dive Tour" due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe. "Deep Dive Tour", which promised deep cuts and B-sides from throughout SHINEDOWN's career, along with the group's many radio hits, was originally slated to take place in the spring but was postponed to the summer before being scrapped altogether. Two months ago, Smith clarified his remarks about playing live, just a few days after he seemingly suggested that SHINEDOWN would tour this summer as planned no matter what. On May 7, Smith told Zippo Encore: "As of right now, that's all a go. So we're not backing off of that rescheduled timeline." Smith later added, "We wanna do everything safely and we wanna go by the professionals in the medical community... but you can't stay inside forever." Five days later, Smith issued a clarification after some fans misconstrued his position to mean that SHINEDOWN would perform this summer against health officials' advice. In a post on social media, Smith wrote: "I'd like to clear up any misunderstanding about our touring plans that may be out there as some of my comments were a little misconstrued recently in the midst of trying to stay positive in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic." He continued: "We'd like you all to know that while we can't wait to play for you and see all of you on the road again, we will only do so when it's safe. The health and wellness of our fans is what's most important and something we take very seriously." Smith told The Pulse Of Radio that he had a message of advice and hope for fans. "Don't stay online all day long," he said. "Get out. Get in the sunlight. Go for a walk. Go for a run. Reset. I've said this for many years, and it holds true even more now than ever: it is never goodbye, it's just 'til next time, and we'll see you all really soon."
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