Headliners You Me At Six had to pause their show at Slam Dunk Festival in Hatfield while an injured fan was treated by paramedics.
The music event’s main attractions had been on stage at the University of Hertfordshire’s College Lane campus for about 20 minutes last night (Sunday) when the plight of an injured fan was brought to their attention.
Concerned about the safety of the girl, the group stopped playing five songs into their set and, after a brief interlude, left the stage while the medical emergency in the crowd was dealt with.
Explaining what happened, Slam Dunk organisers tweeted from the festival’s Twitter account @slamdunkmusic: “For anyone asking – YMAS set was interrupted last night to remove an injured fan from the crowd. Unavoidable, safety first.”
Thousands of festival-goers waited patiently for more than 20 minutes while the drama unfolded on the Hatfield-based uni’s Hutton Lawn.
You Me At Six frontman Josh Franceschi praised the swift actions of security and paramedics when the Surrey band finally returned to the stage to resume their stop-start headline performance.
Promoters extended the curfew to allow the Sinners Never Sleep rockers to complete their planned set, with the Bite My Tongue band finally coming off stage around 11.20pm after playing closing track Underdog.
Today (Monday) the YMAS vocalist posted a statement on Instagram, along with a picture from the Slam Dunk Festival.
Josh wrote: “To everyone who was at Slam Dunk South yesterday...
“A) Thank you for coming out to watch us we had a great time.
“B) Thank you for your patience as that young lady was being seen to by paramedics.
“C) We have never had to leave the stage for 30 minutes, but the safety of people who come to watch our band, as well as your enjoyment level, is paramount to us.
“Was it somewhat frustrating? Yes.
“But our egos are far less significant and the show continued as planned after that.
“D) Thank you to the fans in that area of the crowd for alerting me to the situation, to the security and paramedics for acting swiftly, and to Slam Dunk for letting us run over so we could complete our set.
“E) Glad to say the young lady has completely recovered.”
Tweeting the girl who was injured in the mosh pit, Franceschi – @joshmeatsix – posted on Twitter: “if you genuinely were the young lady, then let me tell you categorically you did not ruin our set. I’m relieved to hear you’re ok”
He also tweeted her: “was certainly an unsettling 25 minutes but you and fans alike’s safety is paramount.”
Thousands of rock, ska punk, pop-punk and metal fans attended Slam Dunk South, and ticket holders took to Twitter to praise both You Me At Six and Slam Dunk organisers.
Katie Hill (@Titchyhill) tweeted: “How @SlamDunkMusic handled the situation yesterday was fab. Fan safety first and extended the curfew so that the whole set was still played!”
Another fan at the concert, Carrie McClenaghan (@Carribo179), tweeted: “@SlamDunkMusic the crowd were fantastic in trying to protect her from more injury and get the attention of @joshmeatsix to stop, good crowd”
While Kayleigh (@kayleighbp95) tweeted: “@joshmeatsix credit to you guys tonight! You handled a bad situation impeccably and reaffirmed why you’re one of the best British bands”
Earlier in the day at Slam Dunk South, YMAS star Josh Franceschi had joined Finch on the Monster Stage in the Piazza outside the EleHouse near The Forum Hertfordshire.
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