Sugarland Speaks Out For The First Time About Indiana State Fair Accident

On August 13 of last year, the Indiana State Fair was hosting a concert when inclement weather, including high winds, picked up just before the band Sugarland made it onstage. Earlier, the Indiana State Police issued a severe thunderstorm warning and asked crowd members to take cover due to the approaching storm. Many people did not heed the advice of the authorities, and several of these people were injured and lost their lives due to a stage collapse later in the evening.

The band that was supposed to headline the night, Sugarland, was praying backstage when the storm hit and thus none of the band members were injured. Nonetheless, the band was shaken up over the horrific event and offered a memorial service for the dead and injured, and later, a free replacement concert for any fans.

Sugarland’s part in the Indiana State Fair accident should have ended there. However, some enterprising 44 “victims” of the incident decided to sue concert promoters Live Nation, the show’s security unity and stagehands union, and the band, Sugarland. While Pop Blend recognizes the very human urge to get even, laying the blame for an accident on all of those people, and especially Sugarland, is completely ludicrous, especially when concertgoers were given warning the weather was bad and could have left of their own accord.

Needless to stay, Sugarland has stayed pretty mum about the accident ever since whispers of lawsuits emerged. Now, band member Jennifer Nettles has spoken out for the first time on In the Spotlight With Robin Roberts about the devastating incident, what she felt afterward, and about the free concert the band put on in Indiana with the help of the state government.

As an Indiana resident, I have personally seen how the band’s continued support for their fans in this state, even in the face of strife, has meant so much to so many people. Pop Blend wishes their best to Sugarland as the band moves forward into the future.