The recent events in Florida have not only stunned the nation, but the music industry. We know Country artists are some of the most accessible in the industry. This has left promoters, venues, executives and the artists themselves asking what should we be doing differently now?
How will the Christina Grimmie and Pulse Night club incident change their interaction with the fans? Sure, some venues already have metal detectors in place but we know that many smaller venues do not nor do they even check purses and lets not talk about what all you can fit in your cowboy boot. That’s my purse. We all get wanded. We expect it when going to AT&T Stadium, House of Blues, Gexa, Toyota Stadium. But as country lovin’ folks, we also frequent smaller venues that don’t have that fancy stuff around and we’re all just there for a good time.
Miranda Lambert had a show in Florida over the weekend and in her meet & greet line, you could find something new…. an armed police officer provided by the venue. Maybe that will become the norm. There are other artists that require meet & greet winners to submit their name before hand to be cleared before meeting the artist. Maybe that will also become a norm.
Cassadee Pope who is a former “Voice” contestant had this to say: “I did a show at the Basement East last night, and I stayed after for 45 minutes to sign autographs for fans, and had nobody checking bags or anything before they came to meet me. So I think there’s a certain amount of safety that we need to think about, but its impossible to foresee any of that happening. Obviously my heart goes out to her family and friends, I met her a few times, and obviously am a fan of what she did and her work. So it’s a sad day for everybody. I’m performing on her behalf tonight.”
It’s a legitimate concern for our favorite artists. They’re in the spotlight and so accessible to their fans. Sure, we want to meet them. But what can be done to ensure this doesn’t happen again? Should there be more security? Screening? Stop Meet & Greets and just open them up to their fan clubs where there is more control on who people are? I know we must not fear or coward down but we also must be vigilant. I’m talking about this now because they are talking about it and making changes to their security detail. All in all, we must all do our part, see something… say something.
-Michelle
