Godsmack May Not Return to Touring Until 2022

The pandemic is providing bands with many scenarios they never had to consider before, and while there is an interest in returning to play shows again for most acts, there's also a desire to do it right and with proper caution avoiding any possible health risks. During a chat with Offstage With DWP, Godsmack's Sully Erna revealed that he felt his band likely wouldn't return to touring until 2022.

The singer first spoke about how the shutdown has affected him, revealing that the time off actually aligned with Godsmack's between album plans. "I haven't done any [shows] since last November when we ended the 'When Legends Rise' record cycle," explained the singer. "But for me, life really hasn't changed much, because in order to write music, you have to kind of isolate for that anyways. You don't really write music in the middle of a nightclub or with a house full of people — most of the time. You're just kind of isolating and doing your own thing and working out melodies and lyrics and riffs and whatever. So we were just at that stage anyways, coming off of an album cycle, to have to go in and start writing again."

He added that he has been working on new material during the break, and then addressed the idea of returning to touring.

"I don't really even think we're gonna do anything next year, because I think it's still gonna be a big mystery on how tours are gonna go, how concerts are gonna go, how promoters are gonna treat artists, how insurance companies are gonna treat venues," he continued. "I think it's still a bit of a mystery to figure out, so I think we're gonna kick back and watch everyone else kind of scramble and figure it out and see how it works out and probably dip our toe back in in the beginning of '22."

Erna, minus Godsmack, will be playing some shows very soon, as the month of October has been blocked out for him to join Staind's Aaron Lewis on the "American Drive-In" tour. The two musicians will be playing "unplugged" intimate performances at drive-ins across the country where fans can watched socially distanced from their vehicles and surrounding space. The tour launches tomorrow (Oct. 1) at the Starlite Drive-In in Wichita, Kansas with dates booked into early November. Head here for a full itinerary and ticket availability.