Twenty One Pilots Controversy: Why Festival Were Right To Cut Them Off
31 May 2016, 15:23 | Updated: 8 May 2017, 17:09
We know it was annoying - but it was also necessary...
Twenty One Pilots had their set at a UK festival unexpectedly cut short this weekend (May 28th) after organisers had safety concerns when Tyler scaled the pole in the middle of the tented venue, perched above the audience as he has been known to do in the band's energetic live performances.
You can watch footage of the incident here, the mic cutting as the fest heads pull the plug.
Understandably, despite the organiser's apology, many fans were upset and angry at the decision.
Tyler's unplugged mic makes me so mad. Congrats @BBCR1, you untied the fury of millions of Cliquer's. Including me. https://t.co/mkJDXh6VC6
— Spooky Joshler (@thetopupdates) May 29, 2016
radio 1 cut off twenty one pilots set wtf
— ellie (@elliegentx) May 28, 2016
radio 1 are super yikes for cutting off twenty one pilots set lmao why book them for a gig without researching what their concerts are like
— lucy (@tangledyoongi) May 28, 2016
Here's the thing though - they were right to be stopped.
Crowd safety is always the number one concern of any festival or concert promoter, and rightly so given some of the disasters that have taken place in the past. Regulations are of the upmost importance and everything must be planned out through an insurance company.
Now, when TOP are touring, any stunts they pull on stage will be checked with the venue and their own tech team beforehand so while there may be an element of danger in, say, Josh playing his drums while standing on top of the crowd, the fact is that it will have been checked beforehand with all relevant parties informed about what's going to happen.
Clearly this wasn't the case this time - that's not the band's fault but it's also not Radio 1's fault either. Their priority is safety and that's never going to change.
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So, when the music abruptly stopped, it did make sense. It's sad that, because of time constraints, Tyler couldn't just return to the stage and carry on but still they made the right decision.
Let's just all be glad that this didn't happen during song 1 'cos the rest of the set was LIT!
