Tour Manager Saves Sugarland's Lives During Stage Collapse
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Written by Elliott Batte
Sugarland have revealed how they were saved by their tour manager following the horrific events on Sunday which left five dead and countless injured.
The country duo were due to go on stage just moments before a huge gust of wind, travelling around 60-70mph, blew down the stage at the Indianapolis State Fair – crushing almost 100 people. With five dead (including daredevil stagehand Nathan Byrd) and many more injured, it’s a miracle that the talented pair weren’t harmed in the stage collapse.
And it’s all down to their tour manager Hellen Rollens, who decided that it was unsafe for the band to go on stage just a minute before the rig gave way – despite others telling the two to make their way onto the stage.
Rollens told the band’s full manager Gail Gellman that she acted on her intuition rather than anything else, and now it looks like Rollen’s last minute decision could have saved Sugarland from death. Manager Gellman spoke highly of Hellen in the Washington Post.
“As a tour manager, it’s super important to understand what the weather conditions are when you play outside. We’ve always talked about not putting the band on during wind, lightning or heavy rain.
“Everybody was standing in a prayer circle getting ready to go onstage, and Hellen, as she was walking down the ramp, the stage fell. So her decision to hold them for literally a minute saved every band member and crew’s life.”
Watch the video of the crazy stage collapse below – but be warned, the video contains disturbing scenes.
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