Live concerts return to Thomasville

THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WCTV) – Live concerts return to Thomasville for the first time in over a year.

Prior to the pandemic, the First Friday Sip and Shop event also offered a live performance at the Ritz Amphitheater. However, due to restrictions and the Georgian ban on large gatherings, the concerts were postponed for security reasons.

“Just kidding and saying I mourned the loss of live music in our downtown,” said Madison Eaton, the special events coordinator.

Now that the state has relaxed much of its COVID safety guidelines, the city will kick off the first Sip and Shop with a live performance on Wednesday.

The band that was to take the stage was voted the best local band in Tallahassee, The Top Shelf. The band has six members who share a love for music and covering popular hits for their audiences, and the lead vocalists share something a little more unique to the band.

“It’s our hobby together as a married couple, so it’s an outlet to get out of the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. work setting and do something fun together,” Diana Kellogg said.

She and her husband, Jason, say they started the group about five years ago, covering all types of party favorites and gaining a large fan base in the Big Bend area. The couple said it had been almost seven months since they had performed on stage and they couldn’t be more excited to return to the Ritz.

“A lot of the places we were playing obviously couldn’t have gatherings, so that pretty much shut down everything,” Jason said.

Although they’ve had to put their passion for the stage on hold, Jason said they’ve been lucky to hold their own during the pandemic with their day job. In preparation for their comeback, Kellogg said they plan to leave everything on stage.

“We hope to please everyone, we are excited, we are ready to throw ourselves on stage. We’re going to give you all the energy we’ve got, we’ve got a lot of energy built up over the past seven months, so we’re ready to go out there and put on a great show,” he said.

Eaton said the concert will still offer safety precautions for those with concerns. The outdoor amphitheater provides space for social distancing on the lawn, and handwashing stations will also be set up around the venue.

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