Summer concert safety 2025

By Jess Santacroce
Music Writer, 955 The Heat, Phoenix Radio
​ As June arrives, it brings with it large outdoor concerts and other music filled events. It is also a month designated to celebrate numerous communities, cultures, and historical events, including but not limited to LGBTQ Pride month, the Juneteenth holiday, Caribbean-American heritage month, and Filipino-American heritage month. For most people, this adds up to the opportunity to display solidarity and healthy pride in a community we belong to, or to learn more about and honor members of a community that may not include us, but definitely includes some of our friends, neighbors, family members, coworkers, or members of our church.
For others, culturally based summer music festivals become twisted into an excuse to express bigotry, hatred, and fear of any community they are not a part of. On June 1, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s coverage of its city’s LGBTQ pride month kickoff received comments such as “Happy mental instability month,” That is a sick day and I could puke,” and “Insane people are bored.” Those are just the ones that could be repeated without posting a content warning on this blog. Many more remarks included graphic references to the imagined private lives of strangers. Utica’s posts about upcoming Juneteenth celebrations received comments calling the event “pathetic” and “lame.” While the internet does give people that “tucked away” feeling that allows them to express things they might not express offline where unwanted consequences might go beyond an angry written reply, it is possible, especially in the social climate of 2025, for people harboring these sentiments to show up in person at an event. Taking steps to keep each other safe at these events must be a top priority.

Before the event

Ideally, you will want to attend any large public gathering in a group. It does not have to be a large group, but avoid going alone if at all possible. Everybody in your group should make sure to fully charge their cell phones before the event, and bring them along. Our phones may have a well-deserved reputation for allowing us to ignore and disregard each other, but they can also serve as an important safety device. Make sure everyone in the group has each other’s number or easily accessible chat app account programmed into their phone.
We all know about dressing for the weather and using sunscreen and insect repellent, but make sure everyone wears clothing and shoes they can easily move in should they need to exit the event quickly in case of an emergency. Fitted skirts, narrow heels that get stuck in soft ground, and overly bulky clothing may be difficult to move in. Anything you bring with you, such as a chair or a bag should either be something you can easily carry or something you are willing to leave behind.
Spend a few minutes before arriving at the event to agree on a plan in case you get separated from members of your group. Choose a spot that’s easy for everyone to find and remember and agree to meet there at a certain time, and make sure everyone knows when and where that is and is willing to take it seriously.

During the concert or other music event

As soon as you arrive at the event, note the exits. If the event is an indoor/outdoor event, the exit signs for anything held indoors will of course be marked. When you are outdoors, the exit areas are going to be the edges of the space reserved for the event. You will also want to visually scan the area to find law enforcement or other security personnel. As the music begins, most of your attention will of course be on the performers onstage. This is the entire point of the event, and there is no need to ruin your own evening constantly monitoring everyone and everything in the crowd. Event security is there for that purpose, and you should absolutely enjoy yourself and your time with your family and friends.
This does not mean you should become oblivious to the people in the crowd with you. Should you spot one or more people displaying behaviors that may indicate a plan to behave violently, alert security and prepare to leave the event. These behaviors include appearing to spy on or intently watch certain people or those in a certain community, carrying or wearing excessively bulky items or clothing, or taking videos or pictures of things not normally kept as keepsakes by audience members, such as vents of nearby buildings or the security area.
Some of us may have fantasies of rising to social media fame by loudly and cleverly confronting anyone who infiltrates an event and begins mocking, threatening, demeaning, or insulting the community or communities featured at the event. We picture our words being filmed, posted to YouTube, and bringing the troublemaker and everyone who agrees with them to worldwide shame Those fantasies are just that, fantasies. Resist the temptation to confront anybody who decides to become verbally abusive or combative in the crowd. What seems like it should be humiliating to you is likely exactly what this type of person wants to happen. It gives them an excuse to escalate their behavior, allows them to see that they have upset you, and brings them added attention.
Instead, move quickly and quietly to the exit areas and alert security or law enforcement on your way out. If you are able to do so without drawing the attention of the person or their allies, quietly document the incident on your phone. Film the incident if you can. If not, try to at least get an audio recording. This material will be useful should you need to file a police report or offer any additional evidence of the incident.

Once everyone is safely home

Now is the time to network with others in your community. Reach out to groups and individuals who oppose the type of sentiments the event disrupter expressed, and plan additional events and service projects. If appropriate, reach out to anyone who was harmed in any way and offer support to that person.
It is probably temping to post the video you or someone in your group took now that you are safely away from the situation. Take some time to think things over before you do this, as it will have mixed consequences. Posting a video of someone behaving in a hostile or demeaning manner targeting a certain group will expose that person to others who were not at the event. At the same time, remember that the person or people you filmed may experience any type of attention as a reward. You and your family, friends, and coworkers posting their video and speaking out against them online might be exactly what they were hoping for in order to further inspire their own base.


Let’s keep each other safe as we celebrate with music this summer.