It seems DC’s thirst for restrictions did not end last April when the city dropped its mask mandate. Washingtonians still feel an incessant need to be regulated and the National Symphony Orchestra has just found the most recent method — nut bans.
In an email passed to Cockburn by a tipster about a concert starting this week at the NSO, orchestra management has established a “nut-free zone” in the building. Per their order, all performances September 5-8 will be strictly nut-free — and that’s not all. Trace amounts of nut oil will also be prohibited.
“No foods with peanuts or hazelnuts or foods cooked in nut oil can be brought onstage or backstage,” the email reads. That the venue stopped short of banning snacks processed in a facility that processes nuts is a miracle.
The NSO has good reason for the ban — a visiting artist with an allergy — but that won’t stop Cockburn’s bemusement at a professional email banning nut oil. Though, if orchestra management had raged against seed oils Cockburn might have been convinced.
The ban will be in place for the duration of Jacob Collier’s Orchestral DJESSE Show. The twenty-nine-year old musician and composer has won five Grammys and is known for his blending of jazz, R&B, classical and other genres. He is also known for a severe nut allergy that has already derailed a few of his concerts.
While on tour in Amsterdam in 2016, Collier had to reschedule a performance after being hospitalized following an allergic reaction. At a show in Sydney last August, Collier landed in a similar situation but came prepared. “About an hour ago, I ate something rather dodgy, and I had a very bad allergic reaction,” Collier told the crowd casually. “I had to put an EpiPen in, so I’m a little bit like ‘blablablabla,’ but I am so determined to do this show.”
Cockburn applauds Collier for his resilience.
