Earlier this month, 10 people ranging in age from nine to 27 died at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival after being trampled in a large crowd surge. Now, in an apparent response to the tragedy, the hip-hop festival Rolling Loud has announced that its upcoming California event will only be open to audience members age 18 or older “in light of recent events.”
In a statement posted to Twitter noting they “want everyone to rage safely,” the Rolling Loud organizers wrote: “We welcome everyone to experience our festivals, however, in light of recent events, we will be implementing an 18+ policy specific only to our upcoming 2021 California festival. We will be giving all ticket purchasers who are under the age of 18 the option to either roll their tickets over to next year’s 2022 California festival or receive a refund.”
Three of the people who died at Astroworld were children, but seven were over the age of 18. There hasn’t been any statement about changes being made to security and medical personnel for the festival.
It’s worth noting that Rolling Loud is promoted by Live Nation, which was named in multiple lawsuits in the days and weeks following Astroworld. Police are still trying to determine what caused the crowd surge, but apparently, the threat of volatile energy was clear before the event even happened: Scott has encouraged enough reckless behavior at his concerts in the past that Houston Police Chief Troy Finner met with him before his performance to discuss his concerns over the safety of the event.
Just before Astroworld, Rolling Loud held its New York festival on Halloween weekend. The California event is set for December 10th through 12th.
Love ya’ll – we want everyone to rage safely. Here’s an important update for all our fans who are under 18 for RL California. pic.twitter.com/9iwjYEmS6p
— Rolling Loud (@RollingLoud) November 23, 2021
