Corey Taylor Details Slipknot’s Internal Covid-19 Policies on Tour

Slipknot’s in-progress Knotfest Roadshow tour with Killswitch Engage, Fever 333 and Code Orange is one of the biggest currently on the road, not only in metal but in any genre. So needless to say, but we’ll say it anyway: any kind of Covid-19 outbreak within the touring party not only threatens the health of everyone involved but their very livelihoods. One mistake amongst the dozens of folks involved could lead to a huge amount of lost income for many, many people.

So it’s no surprise that Slipknot are enforcing a very strict Covid-19 policy on their current run. But what exactly does that entail? How is it possible to govern the small army of tour personnel out on the road as well as the venue staff and local helpers they encounter?

Here’s Sir Corey explaining exactly that on the Oral Sessions With Renée Paquette podcast:

“All the bands are super rad and so stoked to be back on the road. And we have such stringent restrictions that everybody is really, really happy about it. We’re doing our best to kind of set the standard so other bands, other tours can kind of come around and follow the example.

“Basically, [we’re playing] Live Nation-only venues, which require all staff to be vaccinated. It also means that at the gigs, you can either show a vaccination card or a negative test to come in. And it basically means that you’re masked at all times backstage. If someone pops positive, they’re quarantined and they stay behind.

“We’ve only had two outside crew people test positive, and we have been lucky enough, once that happened, we have tested every day — all the crews of all the bands, all the [members] of all the bands, all the bus drivers; everyone — to make sure that we’re all negative. So it’s an arduous process, but it’s a necessary process to make sure that we keep this machine on the road. There are so many moving parts, there are so many people in so many different positions that you don’t even realize that you can trace back contact with one of them through, like, six other people. You just never know — one person on the outside gets it, they have contact with three people who are close to you [and] boom, you’re exposed. So it’s a juggling act, trying to make sure that we keep it in check.”

Seems like they’ve done a fine job of keeping it in check so far seeing as the tour is more than halfway through.

Corey himself contracted Covid-19 this past summer after his solo tour. He credited the vaccine with helping him through a quick recovery.

Here are Slipknot’s remaining tour dates:

Oct. 19 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 20 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 22 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek [tickets]
Oct. 23 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 24 – Pelham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 26 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP [tickets]
Oct. 28 – Del Valle, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater [tickets]
Oct. 29 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (no Code Orange) [tickets]
Oct. 30 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion [tickets]
Nov. 01 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater [tickets]
Nov. 02 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion [tickets]
Nov. 05 – Los Angeles, CA — Banc of California Stadium (Knotfest Los Angeles) [tickets]