In the wake of the deaths of two teenagers at the Live Nation promoted HARD Summer festival last month, the Los Angeles County Board Of Supervisors has formed an Electronic Music Task Force to "provide recommendations on ways to make electronic music festivals safer for attendees". Teenagers Tracy Nguyen and Katie Dix both died at the Hard Summer festival at the county-owned Fairplex on 1st August, and their deaths were seemingly drugs related. Dozens more festival-goers reportedly required hospital treatment. A subsequent event planned at the site owned by the County of Los Angeles was cancelled by Live Nation. With LA County considering a ban on EDM events at any venue it owns, Live Nation also cut back the capacity of another event scheduled for Halloween and committed to add free water stations, increase security and medical services, and distribute drug education literature at that two-day show.
The motion put forward to propose the new task force states that a ban on EDM events at LA Country owned facilities is still "a possibility", though First Amendment issues around such a ban will be considered first, as well as what health and safety measures could counter concerns. One of the people behind the new task force set to review dance music events in the region is LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, who said in a statement: "I want to emphasise that our efforts around this motion, above all, are about the health and safety of those attending these events"
A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Fair Association, which runs Fairplex, told reporters: "Fairplex will continue to work with Live Nation, the board of supervisors and all public agencies to ensure the continued safety of all guests. We will work together to do everything we can".
Meanwhile, troubled EDM promoter SFX has also cancelled the One Tribe festival which was due to take place near LA on 25th and 26th September. This was as a result of poor ticket sales.
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