Vanilla Ice To Perform At Austin, TX Venue On Friday

Last Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made an executive order last Friday closing all bars in the state, due to an expected surge in COVID-19 cases. (Earlier this week, local news outlet ABC 13 reported that as of Wednesday, July 1, at 5:00 p.m., the state was reporting 8,076 new cases, the highest one-day total in Texas since the start of the pandemic.)

However, '90s pop-rap star Vanilla Ice is still scheduled to perform at the Emerald Point Bar & Grill on Friday, according to the Austin Chronicle.

The venue is technically categorized as a restaurant because at least 51% of its sales are food and, while Abbott’s order shut down bars, it only reduced restaurant capacity to 50% (other local venues have remained open due to their official categorization as restaurants). The Austin Chronicle reports that the show's capacity will be 2,500.

In an Instagram post, Vanilla Ice (real name: Rob Van Winkle) wrote, "I can’t wait to get back to this. 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."

The venue seems to cater to nostalgia for '90s acts: on July 4, Color Me Badd is scheduled to perform there.

Social media was quick to respond to the news of the show.