Unpredictable Experiences: We Survived a Concert Crowd Stampede

We thought there was an active shooter.

Saturday night was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I feel that’s saying a lot, considering I’ve had my fair share of traumas.

Two of my best friends went to the Lovers and Friends music festival with me here in Vegas. We have been so excited for this for months, as it’s been a dream to see the line up of music from middle school to the beginning of my marriage and kids. These were part of the soundtrack of my life and each song attached to memories.

I cried seeing Joe sing, “I wanna know” and sang and cried during TLC’s set, which were one of my favorite bands, as they were so influential with their positive female image and relatable songs for a girl in high school. Ne-Yo, Ginuwine, SWV, Ciara, Nelly, Ja Rule and Ashanti, Nelly, J-Kwon and Chingy were also really fun. And that ends the highlights.

Unfortunately it was almost 100 degrees in the desert at the Las Vegas Fairgrounds, which is almost entirely asphalt. There were very few selections for food. They ran out of Gatorade, soda (an hour in) and seemed to just push alcohol. The free water stations were few, and the water was so hot you could’ve made a cup of tea. We ended up buying as many cans of water (at $5 a pop) as…