91 Arrested at Brad Paisley Concert in Southern California
The summer concert season in country music has only just begun, and already were beginning to see concerning stories about how this year could be just as bad or worse than last year for concert behavior.
On Saturday June 7th, Brad Paisley rolled his “Crushin’ It World Tour” into the Sleep Train Amphitheater in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista. California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control offers and Chula Vista police swept the parking lot as tailgaters and concertgoers gathered before the show, arresting 85 people between the ages of 17 and 20 for minor in possession of alcohol. Four adults were also arrested for giving alcohol to minors, and two additional minors were arrested for having false I.D’s.
All the suspects arrested were released with a misdemeanor citation pending court dates. Minor in possession of alcohol holds a minimum of a $250 fine and 24 hours of community service, and supplying alcohol to minors has a minimum fine of $1,000 and 24 hours of community service. Most of the arrests were made in the Sleep Train Amphitheater parking lot before the concert began.
Mickey Guyton opened the show with a 20-minute set despite saying that she was very sick, and came out later to sing a duet with Paisley on “Whiskey Lullaby.” Justin Moore also played a 45-minute set before Paisley took the stage.
The 91 arrests beg the question if we are truly seeing worse behavior than previous years at country concerts, or if it is a symptom of better reporting, and more aggressive enforcement at concerts, especially concerning underage drinking. Regardless, we’re likely to see similar numbers from other country music concerts as the summer progresses.
June 8, 2015 @ 7:31 am
It’s a 20,000+ seat Amphitheater. When I think of how many people are either drinking underage or bringing weed or such into the show, 91 seems low on the number of people they could arrest. Hell, they could probably arrest that many if they did sobriety tests just outside the arena with a road block.
June 8, 2015 @ 7:44 am
Interesting though that there were no weed arrests reported.
I agree this could be just about any concert anywhere if the police decide to strictly enforce underage drinking laws. I openly question if the uptick in stats were seeing has to do with an uptick in the behavior, or just an uptick in the enforcement. Or maybe a combination of both.
June 8, 2015 @ 7:51 am
Don’t underestimate the policing as a revenue source factor also. These fines and citations are a shockingly large part of the revenue for many municipalities and the key is to cite people that are going to pay so concerts are a plum target.
June 8, 2015 @ 10:09 am
Exactly. This is all California being California. The municipalities there are so strapped for cash that they routinely go do stuff like this or give out parking tickets and other violations.
June 8, 2015 @ 7:54 am
Becuase weed doesn’t make you fight
June 8, 2015 @ 9:29 am
There’s more money in booze busts than weed busts in CA. The state may not have legalized it (yet), but the typical possession fine is only $100.
June 8, 2015 @ 7:32 am
Sounds to me like this would only tend to assure a better, safer concert experience. Maybe LEOs around the country have gotten the word–need to crack down on concertgoers a little bit, in response to the reports of bad behavior, as well as just the tense overall climate in some locations.
June 8, 2015 @ 7:34 am
There needs to be less BS in the crowd, on the stage, and on the radio
June 8, 2015 @ 7:36 am
My guess is a bit of both as to why we saw more arrests. Promoters and venue operators are more aware of the issues that have been taking place and are afraid to have a PR nightmare on their hands like we have seen in Pittsburgh and other places. They are probably hiring more cops and security and trying to crack down a bit more.
I also think we continue to see worse and worse behavior at concerts. Country music promotes a life of hedonism in a lot of songs and even more promote drinking with zero regrets consequences. Combine that with the fact for more and more people, going to a concert like this is a once-a-year thing and they feel like they have to “go all out” to fully get their money’s worth.
June 8, 2015 @ 7:53 am
I just the will be crushing it in jail
June 8, 2015 @ 8:02 am
It’s also a money grab. I was arrested for it back in 02 at a festival. Underage consumption and fake identification. Cost me $500 (250 for each offense). It was two weeks before I was 21. Had to plead guilty to two misdemeanors or fine could’ve been doubled, and jail time could’ve been given. Just had to forfeit bail money. That was the last time I was arrested.
June 8, 2015 @ 10:05 am
Those people should be arrested for going to Brad Paisley concert
June 8, 2015 @ 3:23 pm
Very sad
June 8, 2015 @ 6:28 pm
If the arrests were for something as minimal as “minors in possession of alcohol,” it doesn’t seem like anything out-of-control. I get that it’s something that they have to police and deal with, but it doesn’t seem like it was for rowdy behavior or fighting or anything major.
Seriously, states should just lower the drinking age to 18 already.
June 8, 2015 @ 11:12 pm
The problem is that the federal government requires states to impose a minimum drinking age of 21 in order to receive a portion of their highway funds.
I would be in favor of repealing this federal law and leaving drinking age laws to the states with no federal disincentives. Federal laws criminalizing marijuana should also be repealed and the issue left to the states. I would like to see Rand Paul incorporate these recommendations into his campaign platform – if he did I think he would rock the 18-29 vote in the primaries and get some young people to take another look at the GOP in the general election.
June 8, 2015 @ 8:15 pm
There was rioting and tear gas used to control crowded at the Hot 97 Hip Hop Jamfest at MetLife stadium in NY this weekend… There’s much bigger problems at concerts than college-aged kids drinking beer.
87 underage arrests for just that is s huge number though, it’s usually around a dozen for a pretty standard country show.
June 9, 2015 @ 6:43 am
There in lies the problem with country music today “17 to 20” year olds, this used to be music for adults now it’s geared toward kids.
Actually. Pasiley should have been arrested for impersonating a country singer, fraud that he is.
June 9, 2015 @ 8:29 am
It’s pretty funny. I was at a Whitey Morgan concert over the weekend, and despite ample drinking there were no arrests and security never had to leave their seats once. Recently been to a Whiskey Meyers concert and also a Hatebreed concert. Nobody kicked out, nobody arrested. Even the rather rowdy Hank 3 concert I got to go to a couple years ago only had a handful of people kicked out and no arrests. Why does it always seem to be these mainstream country stars experiencing these issues? Is it the size of the venue and large crowds (all the shows I mentioned were in places with 200 or fewer fans) or something else?
June 9, 2015 @ 5:04 pm
This sounds like a case of aggressive enforcement to me. I mean, find me a major summer concert where there are NOT teenagers drinking. I dunno, maybe Chicago? (the band)
June 9, 2015 @ 5:44 pm
Jeez. I’m 17 and have never touched a thing. I’ve had many opportunities to smoke or drink because my grandpa is a drunkard. I just think it’s not worth it in the long run and it’s pointless to do so. I don’t get what the hype is. If someone’s over 25, I think I can understand, but these people getting busted are about my age! Sometimes I wonder if my generation will rot in hell
June 11, 2015 @ 11:58 am
Good for you, Matthew. Please don’t read that sarcastically, because I mean it.
I’m 34 and still haven’t figured out the appeal.
I might buy a six-pack of something and split it with the wife on the 4th of July or other family events. But odds are, there’s gonna be one or two coming home when the event is over.
I’ve only ever gotten puke-drunk once, and that was in my late 20s. I’ll never understand why that’s touted as something to brag about. Someone recorded me on their camera phone and showed it to me a couple of days later. I was so embarrassed by what I saw, I didn’t touch a drop of alcohol for years.
Stick to your guns, Matthew. You are already ahead of the game.
June 10, 2015 @ 12:34 am
My history teacher in high school always said in his opinion that if your old enough to go to war and die for your country then your old enough to drink a beer………
June 10, 2015 @ 8:58 am
I started going to country concerts about 8 years ago when I was 14.
In a South Florida county concert, they would likely find a lot more than 85 underage kids drinking. I’ve always seen a large presence of law enforcement but have never seen them bug anyone. They are just around to break up fights.
June 11, 2015 @ 1:03 pm
Paisley opens for the Rolling Stones next Wednesday in Nashville. I predict a more well-behaved audience in Nashville outside of LP Field.