The scale of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shootings in Las Vegas may become a test of music fans and their sense of safety at future events. In the country music world, fans and artists are particularly close.
The scale of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shootings in Las Vegas may become a test of music fans and their sense of safety at future events. In the country music world, fans and artists are particularly close, fueled by hundreds of tour dates by popular performers. KRTY Radio general manager Nate Deaton points out that Jason Aldean, who was on stage as the shooting began last night, has about 200 concert or festival appearances scheduled this year. KRTY was the media partner for Aldean’s two Bay Area concerts held Thursday at the Concord Pavilion and Saturday at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. Some young music fans today expressed the need for tighter security, although others said they don’t welcome more intrusive measures. KRTY’s Deaton pointed out that no one expected the incident in Las Vegas to involve shooting from the 32nd floor of a high-rise hotel, which could not have been prevented by tighter screening of concert goers at the festival site. But as San Jose and other cities continue to see more office, hotel and residential towers to be built, the opportunity exists for similar attacks.
