The heat, combined with overcrowding, lack of water, and high ticket prices, left some Boston Calling attendees taking to social media to air some grievances. Evidently, Sunday was the day when concerns were on the rise.
According to a profile on Axios Boston, the wildly popular music festival is facing scrutiny after attendees faced conditions that they deemed unsafe on Day 3.
Nearly 800 medical encounters occurred at the festival over the weekend, with 412 happening on Sunday, the final day, a Boston EMS. In total, 23 people were reportedly transported to the hospital over the weekend, including 13 on Sunday.
Sunday was the final day of the festival and the only sold-out day with acts the Killers, Megan Thee Stallion, Hozier, and Chappel Roan. Evidently, the issue was the Red Stage and the crowd pushing in and bottlenecking to see the act.
The Globe has a roundup of complaints via social media that you can read here.
Other festival goers felt like people were over reacting.
Boston Calling organizers came out with the following statement:
Did you go to the concert on Sunday? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
I attended all three days. Friday and Saturday were great. The crowd was awesome and staff were friendly. From the minute I entered the line at the entrance on Sunday, I noticed a stark difference just in the staff alone. They were not friendly, already stressed. Sunday was the worst concert/festival experience of my life. The lines to use the porta-potties were outrageous, in addition to the free water fill line. Whoever said there were no lines must have been at another concert. I was able to get water via a hose in an area where I discovered where there was also shade, but you could not see any stages and barely heard the music. My son and I had no interest in seeing Megan thee Stallion, but there were no other options at that time, so we stuck it out, sitting towards the back of the red stage next to a blind woman and her service dog, waiting for Hozier. My son and I huddled together as people piled in to see Hozier. People pushed past us, trying to get closer where there was nowhere else to go (We weren’t even close to the stage!). One girl was basically standing on my feet. We decided it was best to get out of there, but it was near impossible. People would not let us through even though I said we were leaving. We got stuck at the VIP area at one point (I’m short so it was hard to navigate). We made our way through the crowd and got out by then end of Hozier’s third song. On our way through, we saw one woman get injured and EMS attempted to help her. There was almost a fight with people shouting and pushing each other. Other EMS also tried to get through to help others–don’t know if they were successful. We left the concert disgusted and disheartened. I was looking forward to the Killers, too. I’m not a novice. I’ve attended many festivals and love GA and being in a crowd, but Sunday at Boston Calling was hell. I thought I’d get crushed.