Ongoing History Daily: Concert tragedies

The deaths earlier this month at the Astroworld Festival are not the first at a music festival.

We can go back as far as December 6, 1969, when the Rolling Stones played Altamont near San Francisco. Along with the infamous story of a man in the crowd being beaten to death by Hell’s Angels—they were the security for the gig—two other fans were killed in a hit-and-run while another drowned in a nearby canal.

Almost ten years later to the day—December 3, 1979—eleven fans died in a crush trying to get to the general admission area. Fast-forward to Woodstock 99 when a man who’s been crushed in the pit during Metallica’s set died from his injuries.

And on June 30, 2000, nine fans died in a crowd crush during Pearl Jam’s set at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. More next time.

Friday’s post was about the iPod workplace ban.