The Mad Decent Block Party is coming to Boston this weekend, and it’s bringing with it a death toll. Two people have reportedly died at the traveling electronic music festival’s show Friday night at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.
On August 10, Mad Decent rolls into the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion with a dance-heavy lineup featuring Diplo, Walshy Fire, Flosstradamus, DJ Snake, DJ Lunice, Children of the Night, GTA, and Wave Racer.
The deaths on Friday night in Maryland appear to be drug related, and Billboard reported that more than 20 others were hospitalized. The Boston show arrives on the calendar several weeks after dozens were hospitalized and treated at Avicii’s performance at TD Garden.
From Billboard:
UPDATE: Police say a second person has died after apparently overdosing during a recent concert in Maryland. Police said in a statement Sunday that a 17-year-old male from Woodbridge, northern Virginia, became the second person to die of a suspected overdose following Friday’s Mad Decent Block Party music festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. The Howard County police statement, released online, said the teen’s name was being withheld at the family’s request. (AP)
Earlier:
A young man has died and 20 others were hospitalized after attending the Mad Decent Block Party at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Friday.
Twenty-year-old Tyler Fox Viscardi was rushed from the concert to a hospital and pronounced dead at around 9 p.m. on Aug. 1, according to police. His death came as a result of a drug overdose, but police are still unclear on what specific drugs he took, according to the Baltimore Sun.
According to Rolling Stone, the promoter and chairman of I.M.P. and operator of Merriweather Post Pavilion, Seth Hurwitz, released a statement about the incident.
“Our hearts go out to the family as they face the unimaginable. As a parent, it makes me horribly sad beyond words to think of a tragedy like this. We can spend every minute of the day making perfect sense to our children regarding the obvious perils of drugs, but sometimes it is impossible to convince them that this is relevant to their world.”
“This particular type of incident is not the problem of those who should have known better…it’s the problem of those too young to believe it could happen to them,” he continued. “Sadly we find ourselves in the classic position of trying to tell kids not to do something they think is fun.”
Diplo tweeted out condolences to the first victim’s family.
our hearts go out to everyone impacted by yesterday’s event. we are truly devastated.
— blondre 3000 (@diplo) August 2, 2014