BELGRADE, Mont. – One of the first live concerts in the Gallatin Valley since the novel coronvairus pandemic hit took place on Sunday in Belgrade.

A night out on the town, sitting down with a date for a musical, or dancing with friends to a great song? We’ve all been missing those little bits of life.

But Montanans like Rhonda Gilbert, the owner of Bubby’s Burger Barn, never stay down for long. She got creative by planning drive-in movies – and on Sunday, a live concert – in the empty lot behind her Belgrade business.

“Being able to offer an outdoor venue and offer it social distanced, brings so much enjoyment to everybody,” says Gilbert. “They’re excited about it, there’s something to do. And it’s live!”

It’s given people a small taste of ‘normal’ in the madness of the last few months.

“Three months ago I started planning this and it’s been a lot of work, but it’s been phenomenal,” Gilbert explains, “We’re just so excited to be able to provide something socially distanced for the community.”

It wasn’t just the people that were socially distanced on Sunday, but also the cars. Each car was spaced six feet apart and concertgoers were allowed to get out of their car as long as they set up directly in front of the car and not on the sides.

For entertainers like Sunday’s headliner – Nashville-based singer Dallas Remington – it’s been a disappointing year.

“We had this whole year planned, and we had all this stuff,” explains Remington. “We were radio touring, we were playing these big gigs on festivals I’ve been trying to get on for years. And then it’s just kinda like, ‘Oh by the way, you can’t do it!’”

The gig on Sunday was Remington’s first major live show since the pandemic hit: “We’ve been very excited about this for awhile.”

Many concertgoers have been ready for an event like this for a long time now.

“We are sick and tired of waiting for some live music so that’s why we’re here!” explains Allen Yukkestad, who came to the concert with a group of friends.

Entertainment like this might be the future, especially when you have a couple dozen acres of land available for rent, like Gilbert.

“If you want to dance, grab your sweetheart’s hand,” Gilbert says. “Take ‘em out in the 65 acres and kick it up in the dirt!”

“I think it would be really cool to see this kind of [entertainment] just forever,” says Remington. “Have some drive-in concerts or have a drive-in concert and then a movie play after.”