Griz offers to pay fans' police citations at Triple Rainbow festival; Alpine Valley apologizes
Alpine Valley Music Theatre wrapped up its busiest season since 2003 by hosting an EDM festival for the first time in its 45-year history.
But fan feedback at Triple Rainbow, a two-night festival Sept. 16 and 17, was so harsh that the East Troy venue offered an apology on social media, and headliner and EDM superstar Griz said he was "beyond upset."
In a tweet Sept. 24, Griz directed his ire toward the "policing" at Triple Rainbow, and even took the unusual step of offering to reimburse any fans who were issued citations by police, saying they could email a screenshot of their ticket to grizpresentssummer22@gmail.com.
"To see our community treated so poorly was heartbreaking," Griz wrote on Twitter.
I’m beyond upset w the policing & Worked really hard on this event. To see our community treated so poorly was heartbreaking. I always want what’s best for y’all, so if u got a citation there email grizpresentssummer22@gmail.com w a screenshot of the ticket & I’ll reimburse u pic.twitter.com/vM02qzoDrs
— GRiZ (@Griz) September 24, 2022
Through his publicist, Griz declined further comment.
Multiple people on social media alluded to police at Alpine Valley making invasive searches and issuing citations for drug possession.
"I absolutely love Griz but the venue is entrapping the campers," said one fan on Twitter, alleging that police with K-9 units raided a neighboring camper after they found over $1,000 in cash in their wallet.
"It is the most intense security I’ve ever seen and I’ve been doing festivals for 10+ years," the fan wrote.
I absolutely love @Griz but this venue is entrapping the campers. A neighbor just had his campsite RAIDED by local police and K-9 units bc they found his wallet with over a grand in his wallet.
I feel so uncomfortable and I have no drugs. Just absurd had to share…
Be safe yall— 𝕭𝖗𝖎𝖉𝖌𝖊 💫 (@babybriddim) September 17, 2022
The Journal Sentinel reached out to the Walworth County's Sheriff Department for more details in late September. In a reply received Oct. 5, the department said that 46 citations were issued at the two-day festival: 24 for possession of marijuana, 21 for possession of drug paraphernalia, and one for disorderly conduct.
The criticism of the citations was loud enough that the Live Nation-managed venue offered a rare apology on its Facebook and Instagram pages, suggesting the primary issues may have concerned campers at the festival.
"We acknowledge that some campers had a less than optimal experience in our campground and we apologize," the posts read. "We appreciate your valuable feedback as we are continuously working to improve our camping experience."
The posts also offered gratitude to "the Griz community" and said it was a "pleasure" hosting the artists' fans, asking that anyone with concerns or feedback email AlpineValleyHelp@LiveNation.com.
The Journal Sentinel reached out to a Live Nation publicist for more information and received this statement: "Griz put on an awesome show and overall attendees commented that it was an amazing weekend camping at Alpine Valley. All that said, we value the feedback from Griz and his fans. Our post is about welcoming all input as we continue to host more camping events in the future."
A Live Nation spokeswoman did not comment on how many campers were at Triple Rainbow, but camping has been sparingly held at the venue since it was approved in 2016 by the Walworth County Zoning Agency. At the time, the approval was for 554 camping areas — including 45 RV areas — for up to 3,324 campers.
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Griz offers to pay fans' police citations at Alpine Valley
