Vanilla Ice Plans Fourth of July Concert for Thousands Despite Climbing Coronavirus Cases

Despite the fact that Texas has reported an enormous rise in confirmed coronavirus cases, Vanilla Ice is slated to perform a concert in Austin Friday night. The ’90s rap icon, whose real name is Robbie Van Winkle, doesn’t seem concerned, as evidenced by an Instagram post on Sunday.

“I can’t wait to get back to this,” he wrote in the caption, accompanied by some concert footage. “The ’90s were the best. We didn’t have coronavirus, or cell phones, or computers. We had 5.0’s, Blockbuster, Beavis and Butthead, Wayne’s World, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. And Mortal Kombat is still better than fortnight [sic] but we got out of the house, We danced, we invented house parties in the ’90s. The last of the great decades.”

While much of the state has been put on lockdown by Gov. Greg Abbott, including bars and music venues, Vanilla Ice’s show will go on due to a technicality, according to The Austin Chronicle. The venue, Emerald Point Bar & Grill, is technically a restaurant, so it can carry on so long as it stays at 50 percent capacity or below. The same loophole has allowed other venues in the Live Music Capital of the World to stay active amid lockdowns, including Stubb’s BBQ and the Far Out Lounge. Another chart-topping ’90s group, Color Me Badd, will also be performing at Emerald Point on Saturday.

On Sunday at a press conference in Dallas, Texas, coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx gave a perplexingly positive review of the state’s handling of the pandemic, particularly during the first five weeks of reopening. Although she did eventually express some concern for the alarming rise in confirmed cases. “The concern that’s been raised is [that] what is happening now is very different than what was happening in April and May, where you were having outbreaks that were quickly contained. In the last 15 or 16 days, it’s taken on a very different aspect in Texas.” Birx then cited the increasing amount of 20-to-40-year-olds who are being hospitalized with the virus.

While it appears as though the concert will be held despite these concerns from health officials, live music isn’t the only way to get a dose of ’90s nostalgia. After all, there’s the upcoming Beavis and Butt-Head revival to look forward to.