Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty recently had his concert in Vancouver stopped immediately after a group of his fans began what turned into a massive mosh pit in front of the stage.
The ‘One Night’ emcee was performing at the 7,000-capacity Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. However, when he delivered his epic track ‘Slide’, he invited his fanatics to rush the arena floor, go crazy and form a mosh pit. As it formed, he urged more fans to take part.
Lil Yachty was heard telling his fans to “fill it up,” speaking in reference to the small space in front of the stage where fans were pushing and shoving each other in a hyperactive fashion. This led to droves of fans arriving from higher arena sections.
Various corroborating accounts have revealed that security and several officials attempted to break up the mosh pit so the concert could continue. However, after the concertgoers refused to leave the pit, the arena was forced to shut down the event.
Lil Yachty also asked people to return to their seats. However, the craziness continued. Artists, venues and promoters have all become highly wary of crowd behaviour since the 2021 Astroworld crush that saw the death of several people. Following the Travis Scott concert, a string of lawsuits were filed, and crowd control has become a focus for many as a result.
Following the event, various videos circulated on social media. However, many were disappointed and believed the mosh pit needed to be bigger to justify cancelling the entire show. Unfortunately, Yachty was responsible for the cancellation by initially encouraging it.
The statement released by Live Nation reads, “During the performance, the artist had invited attendees from reserved seating in the stands to join the floor area. This put the floor area over capacity, so UBC and Live Nation staff paused the show to direct audience members back to their seats. But it says when Lil Yachty reappeared, the floor began to fill again, and staff decided to cancel the show. ” Yachty is yet to comment on the incident.