So far, only one concert has been canceled outright, with other events being rescheduled, said Ameer Carminer, director of marketing at the entertainment center.

“The biggest and most obvious impact of the coronavirus is the fact that we are not able to host events in a traditional fashion,” he said. “With new policies in place regarding safety, social distancing, and limiting the number of audience capacities, we have to now think outside the box, to find solutions that allow us to continue to provide entertainment options to our community.”

The first drive-in event, a pair of movies hosted with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany, was held over the weekend.

In the short term, the drive-ins are the only option for bringing acts to the public.

“Certainly drive-in events are part of that future,” Carminer said. “Currently we are offering wheels and reels events, which is our very own version of a (drive-in) movie theater concept.

“We’ll come back to the market on July 25 with an Encore Drive-In Nights event featuring Blake Shelton and special guests Gwen Stefani and Trace Adkins.”

Shelton’s latest single, “Nobody But You,” recorded with his love interest Stefani, recently reached No. 1 on country radio charts and has been streamed online more than 130 million times. The song is the artist’s 27th chart-topping tune, and his 2019 single “God’s Country” also hit the top spot and earned Academy of Country Music awards for single, song and video of the year.

Both songs are on Shelton’s seventh album, “Fully Loaded: God’s Country,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart.

Stefani is best known for her time as lead singer for the rock-ska group No Doubt. She has since launched a solo career.

Staff will wear personal protective equipment and assure at least 6 feet of space between cars. The series also will use no-contact payment and ticketing systems and limit capacity in restrooms.

Guidelines around concessions will be enforced to abide by individual state regulations. For a full list of procedures that the encore drive-in nights is employing to keep fans and staff safe, visit encorenights.com.

“Now and in the future, we will continue to provide drive-in events such as movies, concerts and comedy shows in the Civic Center parking lots,” Carminer said. “Once the pandemic begins to subside and the governor’s orders are relaxed, we will then start to plan events in the amphitheater and bring events back inside the venues. Everything will be dependent on federal, state and local guidelines.”

Strong sales at earlier events this year has allowed the civic center’s revenue to remain steady compared to last year despite the emergence of the coronavirus, he said.

“The public has been extremely excited about past events,” Carminer said. “There is no doubt that our community has a strong interest in attending more of these experiences at our venues. As we take on this new normal and continue to implement the appropriate safety measures to ensure that we provide the best space for future events, we would like to continue delivering great experiences to the public.”