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Last week, thousands of people gathered at Sweetland Amphitheatre to watch country artist Travis Tritt perform on stage.

Tritt put on a great performance, but that was expected. His performance fell inbetween a round of a few storms, creating perfect weather. It wasn’t too hot, nor was it chilly, which resulted in a perfect evening for the first return concert at Sweetland since the start of the pandemic.

We wrote last week that we all probably took concerts at Sweetland for granted before the pandemic, but we all know it was actually the little things. Being in a crowd of random people, relaxing and enjoying great music — those things all seemed so easy to do two years ago. Just buy a ticket and go.

The pandemic changed all of that. Sweetland’s concerts were canceled, along with every other event. We grew used to being able to go out and have fun, and this virus took that away. It was worth it for the protection of ourselves and others, but that didn’t make it less difficult.

So last week, when Tritt took the stage, it felt like a big moment. Sure, there have been other community events, but we’re not sure there’s been one with that many people gathered since March 2020.

There’s another concert Saturday night when Emmylou Harris takes the stage at Sweetland. We certainly hope for another big crowd, though we urge you to use your best judgement as we continue to work through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most of all, if you go, we urge you to relish the moment, take it all in and enjoy something we probably didn’t fully appreciate until it was taken away from us.

Many cities the size of LaGrange do not have amphitheaters. We’re lucky to have one, and we’re thankful that big names continue to grace its stage.