Blue Ridge Rock Festival Stage Hands On Event Conditions: “It Was Like We Were Devalued”

Photo Credit: Boston Schulz

After Blue Ridge Rock Festival canceled the last 2 days of the festival due to weather issues and unforeseen circumstances, two stagehands came forward. They spoke on the conditions of the event. 

According to Loudwire, “‘Of all of the hard work that we do, it was like we were devalued,’ stagehand Justin Sirry tells WSLS in a report from earlier this week.

Stagehand Devon Taylor provided the local news outlet with footage of the living conditions. ‘Immediately [I was] just greeted with the smell of mold. It was dilapidated and run down,’ he claims as the video report shows a clip of the shower and bathroom area designated for workers.

Taylor also alleges that the showers were often inoperable.

Disputing Blue Ridge Rock Festival’s explanation that the festival was canceled on Saturday, Sept. 9, due to ‘continued severe weather,’ Taylor contends that a staffing issue figured into the decision.

‘The combination of us, the security, just the complete degradation of the event itself, they were realizing that they had a hot mess on their hands and it was not going to be able to continue,’ Taylor claims.

Prior to the cancellation, stagehands struggled to properly get things set up on the festival grounds, according to Taylor.”

Overall these were terrible conditions and the stagehands that came forward really shined a light on how these circumstances and conditions affected them. Unsafe and unwelcome these poor stagehands were really put through the wringer trying to do their work.

Cailynn Vanderpool: Hi, I'm Cailynn Vanderpool. I currently attend Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. There I study in the Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries.
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