Noah Kahan Fans Infuriated By Wisconsin Venue’s Poor Exit Strategy After Concert Was Canceled Due To Weather

Fans at Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin had themselves one of the worst concert experiences of all-time last night. Noah Kahan was scheduled to perform to a sold-out crowd of over 35,000 people Sunday night but was never able to take the stage due to severe storms that rolled in around 9pm which forced the show to be cancelled. Obviously, no one can control the weather and this is a chance you take when going to an outdoor concert, but it wasn't the fact that the show was canceled that got fans up in arms, it was how the venue handled the situation. The concert was officially postponed at 10:15pm via a post on the Alpine Valley Facebook page , but thousands of people remained in the venue for hours before that official announcement was made. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , the first venue first began alerting the crowd that bad weather was approaching at 8:07pm, despite conditions being clear in the moment. Fans in the lawn were told to leave and go shelter in their cars while those in the covered section were assured they were safe and could shelter in place. https://twitter.com/pietlevy/status/1812301054047891669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1812301054047891669%7Ctwgr%5E9dbaf1d8c1e3617ddd7fcce3f719ad0f93c063a1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jsonline.com%2Fstory%2Fentertainment%2Fmusic%2F2024%2F07%2F13%2Fnoah-kahans-sold-out-alpine-valley-show-being-evacuated-due-to-storms%2F74397245007%2F Unsurprisingly, those warnings fell on many deaf ears and people in the lawn remained in the open until around 9pm, when another announcement was made over the PA system telling those in the lawn to make their way down to the covered section for cover after the first lightning strike hit the area. The storm then picked up and no announcement of a cancellation was made, which caused many fans to want to hunker down and wait it out. As of 10:35pm, thousands remained in the venue despite thunder, lightning, and rain. https://twitter.com/pietlevy/status/1812314891325264213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1812314891325264213%7Ctwgr%5E9dbaf1d8c1e3617ddd7fcce3f719ad0f93c063a1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jsonline.com%2Fstory%2Fentertainment%2Fmusic%2F2024%2F07%2F13%2Fnoah-kahans-sold-out-alpine-valley-show-being-evacuated-due-to-storms%2F74397245007%2F After the show was officially postponed at 10:45pm, though, is where things got really bad. According to a number of comments online, venue staff were told that the show was going to be cancelled well before the public was informed. On top of that, conditions during the shelter in place period were apparently abysmal, with only one water station for thousands of people and the inability for anyone to go and use the bathroom. And maybe even worse, when the decision was made to cancel the event, people were immediately forced out of the venue and out into the raging storm. The parking lots were closed and cars were not allowed in to let people get picked up, no exceptions for injured and disabled people. "A Security guard said it was going to be canceled an hour before they decided to say anything to us." "My mom was waiting in the parking lot because she was the one driving us home. she texted us around 8 saying that someone in security told her that the show was being cancelled, that everyone needed to evacuate, and that the lawn seats were going first" "thanks for having the most HORRIBLE communication possible at an event. leaving people waiting for almost 3 hours in a shelter cause it was unsafe to go out for the show. then finally we get word it's postponed and they tell us no one is allowed to wait inside for rides. then to find out they CLOSED THE PARKING LOT AND DIDN'T ALLOW RIDES TO PICK UP ANYONE. including injured and disabled people. had to go down a road in the middle of the storm for nearly 2 miles to get to our cars." https://twitter.com/Samcheckmark/status/1812403571113013704 More posts on X continue to flood in of the dangerous situation people found themselves in, which was almost certainly made worse by the lack of clear communication and enforcement of evacuation protocols by the venue. Many people didn't get out of the venue until well after midnight, many having to walk a detour through the storms to their cars due to parking lot closures. https://twitter.com/sajylno/status/1812558322660495457 https://twitter.com/3amrapp/status/1812471459589112297 https://twitter.com/oliviaxxolson/status/1812372029749792944 https://twitter.com/hereforthesalsa/status/1812505169961095426 This is most likely not Noah Kahan's fault, but if those in charge are aware that a bad storm is coming, can't you announce the postponement of the show earlier than 10:45pm, more than 2 hours after it was supposed to start? I get that no one wants to cancel a show but it's way worse to find yourself in this situation now, where they should be thanking their lucky stars that no one (as far as I can find) was seriously hurt. Noah did address the situation with a post on X today and a new date is expected to be announced shortly. https://twitter.com/NoahKahan/status/1812477827465261380 Outdoor concerts are the best but it's always a roll of the dice with Mother Nature. Hopefully other venues use this as a learning experience to keep fans more in the loop if something unfortunately happens in the future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKrDdsgXuso