A night of high-energy beats at Coachella took a frightening turn when a heavy lighting fixture plunged down on the audience — striking at least one concert-goer in the head and leaving her bloodied. leaving at least one attendee bloodied.
The terrifying incident unfolded shortly after 8 p.m. Friday as DJ John Summit performed at the popular Do LaB stage, where a witness described the fixture plummeting from high above, SFGate reported.
Joey Freshour, who was standing a few rows back with friends, told the outlet that equipment struck a woman ahead of him and “gashed her head open.”
“There was blood all over the light, and then there was blood on the ground,” he said.
Panic rippled through the audience as nearby concertgoers waved lights to get the attention of medical staff.
According to Freshour, three people quickly lifted up the injured woman and rushed her out of the crowd to seek aid.
After the accident, Freshour recorded video of the fallen fixture lying beneath Do LaB’s signature fabric mushroom structures.
He and others attempted to move the object but found it too heavy for one person alone. He said he documented the aftermath to capture evidence of what happened.
“This is not okay,” he said. “Coachella, what are we doing?”
A TikTok video also showed a security guard informing attendees that someone had been hurt by a falling object and that the stage was temporarily shut down.
Weather conditions may have played a role in the incident. Strong winds swept through the festival grounds that day, causing disruptions across the venue.
Freshour noted that gusts intensified during Summit’s set, saying “it was picking up wind pretty quick.”
Producer Jigitz, who followed Summit on stage at the Do LaB, later shared on Instagram that his set was cut short.
When Freshour returned later that night for another surprise act, he found the area sealed off. “I was like, ‘oh, wow, they’re marking it as, like, a crime scene type of thing,’” he says.
The blustery conditions had already forced changes elsewhere in the lineup. Electronic artist Anyma canceled a late-night performance, while reports from the campgrounds described canopies being blown away.
