New York’s Electric Zoo had its share of troubles this year, leading to the cancellation of Sunday’s events. Festival organizers are refunding customers for the one missed day of the festival.
SPIN reported that the headliners for Sunday were supposed to be Armin van Buuren, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Aoki and Laidback Luke. Festival-goers who bought three-day passes will receive a 33 percent refund and those who bought Friday/Sunday combo passes will receive a 50 percent refund, according to Pitchfork.
It was originally believed that the last day of the festival was canceled due to two drug-related deaths that took place there; two attendees in their early 20s were hospitalized after taking MDMA and died shortly after.
It has now come to light that drug overdoses were not the only tragedy at this year’s Electric Zoo Festival. Stereogum has cited sources saying, “a 16-year-old girl reported waking up under a van in the event’s parking lot Friday with her pants down and her legs scratched and bruised, cops said. She was treated at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell. The NYPD’s special victims unit is investigating.”
In addition to the deaths and sexual assault charges, Stereogum reported that 31 arrests happened over the course of the first two days of the festival, including two felonies. Attendee Andrew Edvin said, “The security and staff along the entrance route did nothing to prevent drugs from being brought in.”
Unfortunately, Electric Zoo has not been the only host to tragedy this summer. A fan at HARD Summer Festival, another electronic gathering, died in August from cardiac distress. One death and two overdoses happened at the kickoff show electro-house producer Zedd’s tour in Boston at the end of August. Even earlier this summer, drug-related problems caused one death and at least seventy hospitalizations at another EDM festival, Paradiso.