Last updated on August 3rd, 2023 at 07:13 am

The recent Astroworld Music Festival has left countless fans concerned for their safety. For those who haven’t heard what happened, Travis Scott held his annual Astroworld festival on November 5 in Houston, Texas, and things didn’t go as planned. 

During his headlining set, Travis Scott brought out Toronto superstar Drake to perform some of their hit collaborations, such as “Sicko Mode.

While this was happening, the crowd went into a panic for several reasons, including rowdy fans, negligent staff, and a false report of someone going around stabbing people with an unknown drug. 

Thousands of fans started to rush towards the stage and exits, causing a surge and leaving dozens injured and nine dead. This has caused fans to prioritize their safety while at a concert. 

Unfortunately, this is not the first time a lead singer or venue neglected the crowd, resulting in injury or death.

The Rolling Stones had their own incident happen in Altamont, California in 1969, and The Who had a trampling accident ten years later in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Thankfully, not everyone is as negligent as Travis Scott. Several times, bandleaders and lead singers have stopped their performance to help out a fan in need. 

Here are ten times the bandleaders of the concert have gone out of their way to make their shows a little safer. 

Kurt Cobain – 1993

First, on our list, we have Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain helping a fan during a 1993 concert in Oakland, California. In the middle of a song, the rock and roll superstar noticed someone getting handsy with a girl in the crowd. 

Instead of ignoring the disrespectful act, the frontman stops mid-song and points the man out, telling him to get out of the venue. When guitarist Cobain got back to the mic, he led the charge of shame by saying, “copping a feel, eh buddy?”

This prompted bassist Krist Novoselic to chime in with “How does it feel, huh?” Before the creep can leave the show, the rest of the rock band points and laugh at him, encouraging the rest of the crowd to follow suit.  

Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda – 2001

When people think of Linkin Park, they usually think about hardcore nu-metal that can be intense for certain fans. What they don’t realize is that the fans at these concerts were always protected, led by lead singers Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington, the latter passing away in 2017. 

In 2001,  the band performed in Docklands Arena, London, when Shinoda noticed a fan fall while performing “Papercut.” Instead of finishing the song, the lead singer stops mid-riff to help those who have fallen in the mosh pit. 

Right before the bridge of the song, Shinoda hops up on a platform and demands his band to stop playing. “We got a little problem right here,” before Bennington interrupts with “pick them up right now!”

Shinoda clears all confusion by apologizing and telling the crowd, “We gotta look out for safety first, for real. Nobody gets hurt. We’ll play this whole s*** again if you guys get up and if you guys are alright. Watch yourselves.” 

Bennington adds, “We know we’ve been stressing all night about being cool, and this is the reason why. Before getting back to the music, he starts a chant where he asks, “what do you do if somebody falls?” and the crowd responds with “pick them up!”

Dave Grohl – 2011

Dave Grohl is no stranger to keeping his concerts safe, being involved with the 1993 Nirvana concert involving inappropriate behavior. Once Nirvana disbanded, Grohl formed his own band, Foo Fighters, who has won several awards, including several Grammys.

At the 2011 iTunes Music Festival, Grohl performed “Skin and Bones” when he noticed a fight break out in the crowd. Like Cobain back in 1994, he couldn’t let this disgraceful act go unnoticed. 

Instead, he tells his band to stop mid-song, gets the guy’s attention, and points him out. Before kicking out the fan, he forces the fan to look at him and gives him an earful, including this legendary quote: “You don’t come to my show and fight, you come to my show to F****** dance.”

The fan is kicked out swiftly, and Grohl continues to rant at the man until he is out of the venue. Although the crowd responded with huge applause, Grohl didn’t accept it, calling the man a few more expletives and saying that behavior is not acceptable. 

Adele – 2011

Rockstars aren’t the only ones who don’t mind stopping their performance to help someone in need. The same year as the Grohl incident, Adele had a fan pass out at one of her concerts, but no one was coming to her aide.

When the vocalist noticed the lack of action, she called out the staff. In the middle of her hit song “Rolling in the Deep,” the 33-year-old singer says, “Stop, stop, stop — someone’s fainted again. Excuse me, medic, right in the middle.”

Instead of assuming the medical have the situation handled, she calls out the security guards, even more, saying, “Can you see? Can someone act like they care, please? Someone’s fainted over there.”

Before continuing with the song, she calls out the ill concertgoers, asking if anyone is coming to them. The moment only took a few minutes away from the concert, and once the fan was taken care of, Adele confidently returned to her hit song. 

Brandon Urie – 2014

One of the most fearful things that can happen to a fan is being trampled, passing out, or being treated inappropriately.

When a fan at a Panic! At The Disco concert has a seizure, lead singer Brandon Urie takes no chances carrying on the show. 

During the band’s 2014 concert at House of Blues in Boston, Urie stops their hit song “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” to ask the crowd to make some space. Urie doesn’t bother addressing the rest of the group before the young fan is helped out. 

Once they are helped, Urie cracks some jokes with the fans before calming them down so the girl can get to safety.

After several minutes of confusion and delay, the band restarts their hit song, knowing no one at their show will be hurt. 

Logic – 2017

Hip-hop is another genre with a bad reputation for crowd management, mainly due to recent events.

To prove the belief wrong, Logic stopped one of his Houston concerts in 2017 when he realized two fans passed out. 

During the Everybody’s Tour, the rapper quickly instructs everyone to part the crowd and remain quiet. While the medical staff gets to the fans, Logic reassures the crowd that they will be alright. 

Once the fans are removed from the crowd, Logic offers insight into how often he sees this happen. “Here’s one thing I want to say, I can’t tell you how many times this s*** happens at a concert.

This is real. I want you guys to make sure you feel okay and feel good,” he says.

Before finishing his speech, he notices another fan pass out. Casually, the rapper parts the crowd again and reassures the fans, ensuring help gets to the fan.

Before continuing with his music, he asks everyone to drink water and make sure they are having fun. 

Lil Pump – 2018

One artist some might be shocked to learn reacted in the same manner is SoundCloud rapper Lil Pump. 

Like Travis Scott, Lil Pump’s concerts tend to get out of control due to fans having fun. Unlike Travis Scott, Lil Pump doesn’t mind stopping his shows to help a fan in need. 

In 2018, Lil Pump was performing at London’s Wireless Festival when a fan in the crowd had a seizure. Immediately, Lil Pump stops the song and tries to get the paramedic’s attention. 

“Yo, yo, paramedics, somebody’s having a seizure!” Lil Pump says in somewhat of a frantic motion. “Yo, call paramedics, come on.”

Once the fan is taken care of, and Lil Pump is back on stage, he takes a moment to let the crowd know the fan is going to be okay. 

Billie Eilish – 2018

Billie Eilish, the number one artist in the music industry, once helped out a fan in need during a 2018 concert. While she was performing her hit song “Ocean Eyes,” she noticed the crowd panic. 

The Billboard-topping singer-songwriter immediately stops the crowd and asks what’s going on before realizing someone passed out.

Eilish quickly runs back to grab a bottle of water for the fan. 

As soon as she gives the fan the water, another fan admits she too is about to pass out. While the crowd awkwardly laughs, Eilish asks the crowd, “what can I do to help?” 

In an attempt to help, Eilish starts handing out water to her fans. Before starting the song again, she goes around the crowd and asks if everyone is okay, saying, “I care about you guys so much.” 

Corey Taylor – 2019

Another band you don’t expect to take a step back to help their fans is Slipknot, only because of the nature of their music.

In 2019, lead singer Corey Taylor was about to start a song but noticed that the crowd getting tight. 

Before starting the song, he demands everyone to back up, saying, “we are all here together.” The lead singer doesn’t quit his demands, forcing everyone to take a few steps back. 

Although this may not seem like much, it’s a small gesture that can help out dozens at a concert. When the main act comes on stage, many fans are eager to get a good view, so they push forward as far as possible. 

Taylor made sure his fans were safe before performing another fast-paced Slipknot song. This is just one small thing a lead signer can do to make their concerts safer. 

@littlefreakbri

this is the type of energy artists need to have when they spot unsafe things going on in their crowds, always.

♬ original sound – bri

A$AP Rocky – 2019

Last but not least, A$AP Rocky was performing in Los Angeles at Rolling Loud Music Festival in 2019 when he noticed a fan had fallen.

Instead of encouraging the crowd to get more excited, he stops the music. 

The rapper asks everyone who is filming for social media to back up and point out the girl in distress.

A$AP Rocky then turns the attention to the fans, saying, “Pick those girls up, bro! Pick the girls up! Pick the fucking girls up, what’s wrong with y’all?”

The headliner didn’t restart the concert until everyone who needed help was taken care of.

This kind of action shows that not everyone in the music industry only cares about a good performance but hopes to prioritize fan safety instead.