After a long-time stagehand for the music festival fell to his death in the staging area at the Empire Polo Club, Goldenvoice issues a statement, praising the worker as 'a hard-working and loving person.'
- Apr 8, 2019
AceShowbiz - A stagehand for the Coachella music festival has died after falling more than 60 feet from scaffolding.
A police spokesman confirmed that the man had died on Saturday, April 06, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
"Upon arrival, they discovered a worker at the concert staging area who had had a fall and had passed away. We responded to assist. It was an industrial accident," Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron said in a statement.
The name of the worker is unknown, and he was reportedly working on the main staging area.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shared a post on Twitter about attending a "traumatic injury" and said a person "fell from a roof and perished at the scene."
According to TMZ, the man was "climbing the stage scaffolding to do some rigging" and he "fell about 60 feet to the ground," with an insider claiming that he was not clipped in to a safety harness attached to a cable to prevent him from plummeting.
Goldenvoice, which puts on the Coachella Festival, said in a statement that the worker had been with their team for more than 20 years.
"He was a hard-working and loving person that cared deeply about his team. As our lead rigger, he was responsible for the countless incredible shows that have been put on at the festival. We will miss him dearly," they added.
Weekend one of Coachella is scheduled to begin on 12 April, with headliners Ariana Grande, Donald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino and Tame Impala.
