Music

20 Jun 2023

Doja Cat, Ed Sheeran, Jack Harlow & More Earn iHeartRadio Titanium Awards for 1 Billion Spins

These six radio mainstays have all earned iHeartRadio Titanium Awards for their songs that reached 1 billion spins across iHeart stations in 2022, Billboard can exclusively reveal.

iHeartMedia revealed the Titanium Award-winning songs on Tuesday (June 20), including  Doja Cat‘s “Woman,” Ed Sheeran‘s “Shivers,” Jack Harlow‘s “First Class,” Latto‘s “Big Energy” and Wizkid and Tems‘ “Essence.”

Sheeran was honored with his award while visiting iHeartRadio in New York recently. “Wowzas,” the 32-year-old crooner said while opening the box containing his trophy. “That is really, really, really cool. … You always wonder every album whether you’re going to lose the kids, because I constantly have young people coming to my gigs. With ‘Shivers,’ all these kids keep coming up to me saying they like ‘Shivers,’ and I’m like, ‘Alrl ight, I still got them.’”

Latto was equally over the moon while receiving her trophy at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards. “One billion total,” she exclaimed while letting out a scream. “Thank you to my fans, thank you to everyone who is part of this record — Mariah Carey! I love you, girl.”

Total audience spins for the iHeartRadio Titanium Awards are based on Mediabase airplay and are multiplied by the number of persons listening to the radio at the time of those plays, delivering total audience impressions, which is the broadcast equivalent of the number of streams on a streaming service.

Artists who received Titanium Awards in 2022 included Olivia Rodrigo for “good 4 u,” The Weeknd for “Save Your Tears,” Lil Nas X for “Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” and The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber for “Stay.”

20 Jun 2023

Adele Says Excessive Sweating During Vegas Shows Sent Her to Doctor For a Problem She ‘Never Knew’ Existed

Adele is legendarily an open book when she chooses to share the details of her life. But on Saturday night the singer got way honest with the crowd at her “Weekends With Adele” show in Las Vegas when she shared a recent diagnosis that sent her to the doctor for a problem she didn’t even know was a thing.

“My face is sweating… my t–s are sweating… I sweat a lot and it doesn’t go anywhere, so I basically am just sitting in my own sweat,” the singer told the crowd at her show in a video shared by fans. “So my doctor gave me [a diagnosis of] jock itch,” she added about her unexpected fungal friend.

Adele seemed as surprised as you might be, before going into even more detail about her condition. “Do you guys know what that is? Jock itch? That sounds like I’m a big Nuggets fans there, doesn’t it?,” said the singer about the recently crowned first-time NBA champions whose team was led by star Nikola Jokic (whose name she appeared to be employing in a pun) ; Adele is dating sports agent Rich Paul.

“Do you know what my doctor gave me? It is a bit crude, but I never knew it existed,” Adele said. “Obviously when I do my shows I wear Spanx to keep it all in and make it all fit me… So my doctor gave me jock itch [cream].”

The common fungal skin infection — often found among athletes who sweat profusely — is an infection that “causes an itchy rash in warm, moist areas” of the body, according to the Mayo Clinic.

And, Adele being Adele, she took it yet a step further. “I have to squirt it on myself,” she shared. “I don’t know why the f–k I just told you that!” The singer’s Weekends with Adele residency at The Colosseum in Vegas is slated to run through Nov. 4.

Watch the fan video of the moment below.

20 Jun 2023

Tom Grennan, Queens of the Stone Age Duke It Out For U.K. Chart Title

Life is full of whats, ifs, and maybes. Just ask Tom Grennan, who’s on the brink of another U.K. chart crown.

The English singer and songwriter’s third studio album What Ifs & Maybes (via Insanity) leads an all-new top 4 on the midweek chart. If it holds its place, Grennan will bag a second leader, following 2021’s Evering Road, and third consecutive top 10, dating back to his 2018 debut Lighting Matches, which peaked at No. 5.

Grennan will be closely watching the form of Queens of the Stone Age, whose eighth studio album In Times New Roman (Matador) is set to start at No. 2. QOTSA already has five U.K. top 10 LPs.

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Completing the podium at the midweek stage is Pet Shop Boys’ career retrospective SMASH: The Singles 1985-2020 (Parlophone). It’s new at No. 3, and should give the synthpop duo an 18th U.K. top 10 appearance on the chart proper.

Coming in at No. 4 on the Official Chart Update is Far From Saints’ eponymously titled LP (via Ignition). It’s the first release from the group, led by Kelly Jones, frontman of Welsh rockers Stereophonics, plus Patty Lynn and Dwight Baker of U.S. band The Wind and The Wave.

Also new to the top 10 on the chart blast is K-pop group ATEEZ, with The World Ep.2: Outlaw (KQ Entertainment), new at No. 6; Texas’s hits collection The Very Best Of – 1989-2023 (PIAS Recordings) at No. 7; and English singer, songwriter and composer Ben Howard’s Is It? (Island), new at No. 8.

A 20th anniversary reissue of Girls Aloud’s Sound of the Underground (Polydor/UMR) could see the band’s debut return to the top 10. It blasts to No. 9 on the chart update. The first full-length LP from Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Cheryl Tweedy, Kimberley Walsh and the late Sarah Harding peaked at No. 2 following its release in 2003.

Just outside the top 10 is Dannii Minogue’s Neon Nights (London Stream Music), which also enjoys a lift due to a 20th anniversary treatment. The Australian pop singer’s fourth studio set, which peaked at No. 8 following its original release, sits at No. 11 on the midweek chart.

All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday, June 23.

20 Jun 2023

Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Set for Top 5 Debut In U.K. With ‘Don’t Say Love’

Leigh-Anne’s solo career should get away to a good start with “Don’t Say Love”.

The Little Mix singer’s debut solo single dropped last Friday, June 16, and is poised for a top five bow on the U.K. chart.

Based on midweek sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, “Don’t Say Love” (via Warner Records) could start at No. 4, for what should be the highest new arrival.

As a member of Little Mix, Leigh-Anne has already collected 19 top 10 appearances in her homeland, including five leaders.

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There’s jostling at the front of the chart race. Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s “Miracle” (Columbia) appeared to be on track for a ninth non-consecutive week at No. 1, following the first 48 hours in the chart cycle.

Now, at the halfway point, it’s Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (Live Yours/Neighbourhood) which retakes the lead. “Sprinter” has led the chart for the past two weeks, opening with an all-time record volume of streams for a rap track.

Completing the midweek podium is J Hus and Drake’s “Who Told You” (Black Butter/OVO/Republic), dipping 2-3.

Meanwhile, Kylie Minogue’s comeback is gathering pace as the slinky “Padam Padam” (BMG) moves on up the Official Chart Update. The Aussie pop veteran’s electronic number rises 12-8 on the chart blast. You’d have to go back to 2010’s “All The Lovers” – and its No. 3 peak position – to find a Kylie track that has performed better on the U.K. chart.

Germany-based, South Korean DJ and producer Peggy Gou could snag her first appearance in the U.K. top 40 with the throwback house track “(It Goes Like) Nanana” (XL Recordings). It’s new at No. 20 on the chart blast.

Finally, Doja Cat could pounce on a 14th top 40 appearance with “Attention” (Ministry of Sound). It’s new at No. 36 on the chart update.

All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday, June 23.

19 Jun 2023

Niall Horan Earns Third No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart With ‘The Show’

Niall Horan earns his third straight No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated June 24) – the entirety of his solo studio releases – as The Show debuts atop the tally. The set bows with just over 68,000 copies sold in the United States in the week ending June 15, according to Luminate.

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Horan’s first two albums, Heartbreak Weather (in 2020) and Flicker (in 2018) both debuted at No. 1.

The Show was released on June 9 via Neon Haze/Capitol Records.

Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Noah Kahan, P1Harmony, Janelle Monae and Extreme all make waves with their latest releases.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new June 24, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on June 21, one day later than usual, owed to the Juneteenth holiday in the United States on June 19.  For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of The Show’s 68,000 copies sold in its first week, physical sales comprise 62,000 (33,700 on vinyl; 22,900 on CD and 500 on cassette) and digital album sales comprise 6,000. That nearly-34,000 sum on vinyl represents Horan’s biggest week on wax, and the largest sales week for any vinyl album released by Capitol Records in the modern era (since Luminate began tracking data in 1991). Unsurprisingly, The Show debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart – Horan’s first No. 1 on the list.

The Show’s sturdy sales start was bolstered by an array of available physical editions: eight deluxe boxed sets containing a CD and branded merch, a signed CD sold through Horan’s webstore, a Target-exclusive CD with an alternative cover and a poster packaged inside, a zine CD package sold through his webstore, six vinyl variants (including color variants for Target, Spotify, Urban Outfitters and his webstore) and a cassette.

Notably, Horan equals the No. 1 count of his One Direction bandmate Harry Styles, who also saw his first three solo studio efforts all debut at No. 1 on Top Album Sales (his self-titled release in 2017, Fine Line in 2019 and Harry’s House in 2022). One further member of One Direction has topped the tally: Zayn, with his debut set Mind of Mine in 2016. (One Direction itself notched four No. 1s on Top Album Sales.)

Stray Kids’ 5-STAR falls to No. 2 in its second week on Top Album Sales, with 46,000 copies sold (down 81%).

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s latest release, Weathervanes, bows at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 28,000 sold. It’s the sixth top 10-charting title for Isbell on the tally.

Noah Kahan’s Stick Season re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 3 following its deluxe reissue with seven bonus tracks, and its first pressing on vinyl, on June 9. The set sold 23,000 copies in the week ending June 15 – up 3,080%. The album originally debuted and peaked at No. 57 on the list dated Oct. 29, 2022. Vinyl comprises most of Stick Season’s sales for the week – 20,500. It bows at No. 2 on the Vinyl Albums chart. It had a relatively slim vinyl release – just three vinyl variants were issued for the set.

Korean pop group P1Harmony makes its debut on Top Album Sales with Harmony: All In, 6th Mini Album, bowing at No. 5 with 20,500 sold. Effectively all of that figure is CD album sales, thanks to the six-track set’s availability across 21 different collectible versions of the album, including some that were signed by the act. All of the iterations contain a standard set of branded merchandise items, along with randomized merch (photo cards and post cards).

ENHYPEN’s Dark Blood falls 2-6 on Top Album Sales in its second week on the list, selling 19,000 (down 78%).

Janelle Monae returns to the top 10 of Top Album Sales for the first time in over five years, as her new studio release The Age of Pleasure premieres at No. 7. The album sold 19,000 copies. She last debuted on the chart in May of 2018 with Dirty Computer, which bowed and peaked at No. 3. In total, Pleasure is her third top 10-charting set on Top Album Sales.

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights dips 6-8 on Top Album Sales with 17,000 sold (down 29%) while Foo Fighters’ But Here We Are falls 4-9 in its second week with 13,000 (down 77%).

Closing out the top 10 on Top Album Sales is a band that’s been absent from the top 10 for over 30 years – Extreme. The rock group’s new album Six bows at No. 10 with 12,500 copies sold. The set marks the band’s first studio album since 2008. The act was last in the top 10 with III Sides to Every Story, which debuted and peaked at No. 10 on the Oct. 10, 1992-dated chart.  

In the week ending June 15, there were 1.924 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 8.5% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.587 million (down 8.4%) and digital albums comprised 337,000 (down 8.9%).

There were 711,000 CD albums sold in the week ending June 15 (down 25.9% week-over-week) and 865,000 vinyl albums sold (up 13.5%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 16.192 million (up 4.5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 21.963 million (up 24.5%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 46.956 million (up 9.2% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 38.403 million (up 15.1%) and digital album sales total 8.553 million (down 11.1%).

19 Jun 2023

Beyond Wonderland 2023 Shooting: The Dance Music Community Reacts

Electronic artists are responding after a shooting that took place this past Saturday night (June 17) at Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash., leaving two dead and three others injured.

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The incident happened on the first day of the two day event, around 8:30 p.m. local time when a gunman opened fire in the festival’s camping area. Two people were killed and three others were injured before the gunman was apprehended by authorities.

On Monday (June 19), Pasquale Rotella — the founder and CEO of Beyond Wonderland producer Insomniac Events — added further details about the shooting, writing that “it is our understanding that the incident stemmed from an isolated situation that escalated, leading the assailant to flee the area. An officer involved-shooting then occurred to neutralize the event.”

Rotella also noted that the festival was kept going during and after the incident at the request of law enforcement “to ensure the majority of attendees stayed away from the campground area where the incident took place. Our staff worked in close coordination with local authorities to secure the area, while also preserving it for investigators to conduct their work in a smaller, isolated section.”

The second day of the festival was canceled following the shooting. The weekend’s lineup included Kaskade and deadmau5 performing as Kx5, Marshmello, Afrojack and other electronic music artists.

Several artists who were performing or were meant to perform over the weekend — including Marshmello, Afrojack, Kaleena Zanders, Dillon Francis, Hannah Wants, Ray Volpe, Malaa and Subtronics — have made statements regarding the shooting on social media, along with other figures and brands from the global dance music community. See these statements below.

Mass Shooting Tracker lists the Beyond Wonderland shooting as the 358th mass shooting to happen in the United States in 2023. A GoFundMe has been set up for one of the survivors of the shooting.

19 Jun 2023

Demi Lovato, John Stamos & More Show Support for Bebe Rexha After She Was Hit in the Face With a Phone on Stage

Celebrities and friends are uniting in support for Bebe Rexha in the comments section of her latest Instagram post, a closeup of a painful-looking face injury.

The singer-songwriter suffered the injury when someone hurled a cell phone at her on stage this weekend. Rexha was rushed to the hospital Sunday night (June 18) from New York City’s The Rooftop at Pier 17. Videos circulating across social media show Rexha falling to her knees after being hit by the device.

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“Im good,” Rexha, recovering from her injury, captioned two selfies on Instagram of her injury on Monday (June 19). Actors and singers including Demi Lovato, John Stamos and more were quick to leave kind words for Rexha upon seeing the photos and hearing the news.

“Love you girly.. I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Lovato commented, along with a sad face emoji.

“This is 100 percent f—ed up! I hope you’re okay BeBe xo,” Stamos said.

“Literally wtf nobody should be throwing s— that makes me so upset. We love you @beberexha glad you are ‘ok,’” Hayley Kiyoko added in a comment.

“Dude what the f—?!? I’m so sorry babe,” wrote Lauren Jauregui. “So f—ed up.”

Leona Lewis wrote, “Sending love,” and actor Lukas Gage also expressed the same message.

The New York Police Department responded to the scene and arrested 27-year-old Nicolas Malvagna, charging him with a felony because the phone was used as a weapon, according to reports.

19 Jun 2023

Ledisi, Raphael Saadiq, Big Freedia and Digable Planets Help Close Second Day of Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival

The Soul Rebels with Big Freedia. Butcher Brown, Digable Planets, Ledisi and the West Coast Get Down featuring Leon Bridges and Raphael Saadiq. Shoutouts to Father’s Day, Juneteenth, hip-hop’s 50thanniversary, Black Music Month and Pride Month. There was something for everyone during the second day of the annual Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival (June 18).

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“You love music like I do; you want every dribbling drop of it,” said festival host Arsenio Hall in his welcome remarks. “I will be the ringmaster of the circle of jazz artists today … And there’s just one rule. Leave all of your troubles behind and have a musical picnic like no other.”

And the Bowl’s full house did just that, beginning with youth act the LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) Beyond the Bell All District Jazz Big Band with special guest Charlie Young. Then giving inspirational music a different twist was Andrew Gouché and Prayze Connection. Nicknamed “the godfather of gospel bass,” Grammy winner Gouché — who has played for Mary Mary, Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin — first led the band in a mellow, moving take on “The Lord’s Prayer.” Then the group, which included Gouché’s nephew Davion Farris, segued into several other songs, including the Clark Sisters’ classic “You Brought the Sunshine” and covers of two songs recorded by gospel star Fred Hammond, “Let the Praise Begin” and “Blessed,” featuring special guests Eric Dawkins (with a dance assist from the Cardinal Divas of the SC Drum Line) and another Gouché nephew, D Smoke, respectively.

During the late afternoon phase of the festival, jazz and world music aficionados were treated to invigorating sets by Richmond, Virginia, quintet Butcher Brown and Boukman Eksperyans. The latter held court with their fresh, percolating fusion of jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk and R&B on songs like “Frontline” and “It Was Me.” Among the eight selections performed by Grammy-nominated Haitian group Boukman Eksperyans during its crowd-pleasing set were “Jou Nou Revolte Granbwa Ile,” “Kalfou O!” and “Tan Bou.”

Big Freedia Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival

Big Freedia performs at the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival on June 18, 2023.

New Orleans brass band The Soul Rebels then took the crowd to the next level with its unique brand of soul, funk, R&B, rock, pop and jazz. Raising the high-energy bar with the raucous “Turn It Up” and “Rebel Rock,” the ensemble turned the volume all the way up when bounce music master Big Freedia hit the stage — and got her twerk on — for a noteworthy three-song set: “I Heard,” “N. O. Bounce” and “Gin in My System.”

Thirty years have elapsed since Digable Planets released its gold-certified debut album Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space). But the warm Bowl reception given to the rap trio made it seem like it was only yesterday when the album’s first single, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” became a Billboard Hot 100 top 15 hit and won the group a Grammy for best rap performance. Before closing their appearance with that song and a standing ovation, Digable Planets worked their way through other first-album tracks “Where I’m From,” “Escapism (Getting’ Free)” and “Nickel Bags,” plus “It’s Good to Be Here,” “Cool Breezes” and “Graffiti” — and proved it has lost none of its enduring magic. 

Ledisi Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival

Ledisi performs at the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival on June 18, 2023.

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Ledisi and her versatile four-octave soprano kept the captivated audience in constant cheer-and-applaud mode during her 45-minute appearance. Performance standouts included “Add to Me,” the colorful scat-accented “Alright” (“It’s a jazz fest so you’ve got to have some scatting”), the autobiographical “Pieces of Me,” latest single “I Need to Know” and the searing ballad “Anything for You,” which won the singer-songwriter a Grammy for best traditional R&B performance in 2021.

The collective West Coast Get Down, with founder and jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, closed the festival along with Grammy-winning special guests Leon Bridges and Raphael Saadiq. Bridges’ set with the band featured a well-received three-song medley: “Born Again,” “Bad Bad News” and “Kings and Queens.” An effervescent Saadiq rocked the stage with his bass guitar on “You’re the One That I Like,” “The Sun” and “Skyy, Can You Feel Me.”

The 2023 Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival was curated by Washington and jazz icon Herbie Hancock. On opening day (June 17), host Hall welcomed performers St. Paul and The Broken Bones, Poncho Sanchez, Bell Biv DeVoe, Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance Ensemble at UCLA, Washington and Samara Joy, a double Grammy winner this year for best jazz vocal album and best new artist. 

19 Jun 2023

Insomniac Events CEO Pasquale Rotella Provides New Details on Beyond Wonderland 2023 Shooting & Explains Why Festival Continued Amid Incident

In the wake of a shooting at Beyond Wonderland 2023 this past Saturday (June 17), Pasquale Rotella — the Founder and CEO of the festival’s producer, Insomniac Events — has released new details on the incident that left two dead and others injured.

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In a statement posted Monday (June 19) on Rotella’s social media, he noted that the shooting took place in the furthest campground from the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash., where day one of the two-day electronic music festival was happening when the shooting occurred.

The event, the second day of which was canceled following the shooting, is a part of Insomniac Events’ Beyond Wonderland festival brand and typically hosts upwards of 20,000 people annually at the Gorge. Many attendees camp at the venue’s onsite campground. The day two lineup was meant to include Marshmello, Afrojack and many others.

Rotella noted that the camping area where the shooting occurred is a half mile outside the perimeter of the main festival grounds, adding that “it is our understanding that the incident stemmed from an isolated situation that escalated, leading the assailant to flee the area. An officer involved-shooting then occurred to neutralize the event.”

Rotella also addressed why the decision was made to keep the festival going during and after the shooting, a call that’s come under fire from many commenters on social media. Rotella writes that this decision was made “at the request of law enforcement once it became evident that there was no ongoing threat to the safety of attendees. This was also done to ensure the majority of attendees stayed away from the campground area where the incident took place. Our staff worked in close coordination with local authorities to secure the area, while also preserving it for investigators to conduct their work in a smaller, isolated section.”

Read Rotella’s complete statement below.

“I would like to address the tragic incident that occurred last night at Beyond Wonderland. On behalf of the entire Insomniac family, we extend our heartfelt thoughts and condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of the victims. The loss of two lives, as well as the injuries sustained by others, is an incredibly heartbreaking tragedy.

Given the various accounts circulating, I would like to provide an update based on the information currently available.

We know that the shooting took place in the furthest campground from The Gorge Amphitheatre, which is designated for overflow camping and located a half a mile outside the perimeter of the main festival grounds. It is our understanding that the incident stemmed from an isolated situation that escalated, leading the assailant to flee the area. An officer involved-shooting then occurred to neutralize the event.

The Gorge has been successfully hosting events for decades. The circumstances of how and why this incident occurred are under investigation.

Many have questioned why the festival continued during and after the incident. We made the decision to keep the festival open at the request of law enforcement once it became evident that there was no ongoing threat to the safety of attendees. This was also done to ensure the majority of attendees stayed away from the campground area where the incident took place. Our staff worked in close coordination with local authorities to secure the area, while also preserving it for investigators to conduct their work in a smaller, isolated section.

I want to express my gratitude to the artists and staff who remained calm and ensured that the show continued. Your collective efforts greatly contributed to maintaining the safety and calmness of the attendees.

To the Insomniac first responders team, I am grateful for your professionalism, passion, care and courage. I cannot imagine being by the side of any other group when it comes to managing a situation as challenging as this one.

This tragedy has affected me deeply. As the organizer of this event, my intention has always been to bring people together and celebrate our shared love of music and community. I am at a loss to understand how individuals can commit such heinous acts. Throughout 30 years of organizing events, we have brought together millions of people without any incidents of this nature. I hold a profound love for our community and deeply value the principles that define our culture. This incident stands in stark contrast to everything we stand for — it goes against the spirit of love, unity and respect we strive to foster within our community.

Please take care of yourselves and continue spreading love and support to one another especially during this difficult time.”

19 Jun 2023

Electric Forest 2023 Announces ‘Increased Safety Oversight & Protocols’ Following Beyond Wonderland Shooting

Following a shooting at Beyond Wonderland on Saturday (June 17) that left two dead and others injured, Electric Forest is increasing safety measures ahead of the festival this weekend.

In a statement posted to the Electric Forest social media on Monday (June 19), the Michigan electronic music festival assured of “increased safety oversight and protocols. This presence will be visible to all attendees throughout the festival site and campgrounds.”

The event, held at the Double JJ Resort in the village of Rothbury, Mich., also notes that it will host specialized Festival K9 units, composed of “highly trained dogs and their skilled handlers [that] have undergone rigorous training in firearm detection amidst a large crowd and in challenging environmental conditions.”

Organizes noted that Electric Forest “works year-round with large-scale event security professionals including Michigan State Police, and local law enforcement agencies, and FBI, to provide a safe environment for our patrons, staff, and artists.”

This statement (read in full below) arrives in the wake of the shooting at the electronic music festival Beyond Wonderland, held at The Gorge Amphitheater in George, Wash., around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. The shooting occurred in the camping area of the festival, with the gunman firing randomly into the crowd. Two people were killed and three others were injured before the gunman was apprehended by authorities.

Insomniac Events, the Los Angeles-based dance festival events company that produces Beyond Wonderland, is a partner in Electric Forest, which is also a camping festival. Produced by Madison House Presents, Electric Forest takes place in the rural town of Rothbury and is set to launch on Thursday with a lineup including headliners ODESZA, Illenium, Zeds Dead, Above & Beyond and The String Cheese Incident.

Read Electric Forest’s full statement on Twitter below.