It's been over seven months since the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands drew its curtains for theatre productions and music concerts, thanks to the circuit breaker. This means that most of us haven't seen a proper show in at least that long. But all hope is not lost when the National Arts Council rolled out its pilot scheme for small-scale live performances in October.
Since then, venues such as the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall have resumed activity, welcoming back two zones of 50 audiences each show – yes, like in in-person, IRL. And on December 18 and 19, it's the Sands Theatre's time to shine as it sets the stage for the biggest music concert since April: Back To Live.
This time, the audience capacity is quintupled to 500 each night, with 50 people per zone. Backed by the Singapore Tourism Board and Ministry of Health, the large-scale concert is part of the Pre-Event Testing (PET) Pilot programme that aims to reintroduce live music to the masses once again.
Look forward to a star-studded lineup of local music acts including the siblings of pop Benjamin Kheng and Narelle, soulful boy-next-door Sezairi, hip-hop trailblazer TheLionCityBoy, and dream-pop darling Linying on December 18. Then on December 19, treat your senses to roping performances by singer-songwriter Charlie Lim, R&B wunderkind Keyana, and pop songstress Aisyah Aziz.
Safety measures including entering via the TraceTogether app or token, social distancing and Covid-testing will be applied. You'll also have to produce a negative antigen rapid or polymerase chain reaction test result. Antigen rapid tests are free for all ticketholders.
While catching a live concert is slightly different in the new norm, such pilot programmes do help us move one step closer to life pre-circuit breaker. And if it all goes well, we might be able to take it up a notch with a live music festival soon. For more information on Back To Life including ticket sales, visit marinabaysands.com.