Brawl Erupts in Parking Lot After Sam Hunt Concert in Illinois

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“Country shows man. Everybody gets way too drunk.”

This is one of many things that can be overheard in the disturbing video of a brawl that erupted after the Sam Hunt show in Tinley Park, IL (Chicago area) Saturday night, July 8th. As attendees were attempting to exit the crowded parking lot of the sold out show at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, two separate groups of concertgoers got in a verbal argument about which car should be first in line. After exchanging verbal threats and insults, multiple individuals exited the vehicles, with one man saying, “Dude, it’s a parking lot. Where you gonna go?” and pushing another man.

This resulted in a protracted brawl with multiple parties involved, and at one point multiple physical altercations occurring at the same time, with the man who initiated the first altercation eventually laying on the pavement with a bloody face. Two security staff arrived on the scene a minute after the brawl ensues, but were unable to control it. At one point one of the security staff was shoved up against a vehicle, and sinks to the ground, injured. Accusations also flew that one of the male individuals involved tried to hit one of the women involved in the altercation, while another individual is heard is heard taunting the opposing driver by calling him a “bitch ass ni**er.”

After multiple attempts to separate the brawling individuals failed, five more security staff arrived to help diffuse the situation. Tinley Park Police Chief Steve Neubauer told the Tinley Park Patch Monday (7-10) that none of the parties wished to pursue complaints. No arrests were made in the brawl.

Stories and videos of similar altercations were common at major country music events in the summer of 2014 at the height of the Bro-Country era, escalating into a national story about the behavior at country music concerts.

The amphitheater at Tinley Park has been a common site for such altercations. At a 2014 Jason Aldean concert at the venue, multiple arrests were made, especially in the parking lot, including a man who allegedly grabbed his girlfriend by the hair and rammed her head into the steering wheel multiple times, resulting in facial injuries. Witnesses say the woman was in the passenger seat when she got into a verbal argument with concert goers in another car. When the male she was with who was driving exited the vehicle to confront the other vehicle, the woman told him to get back into the car as she got into the driver’s seat. The man reacted angrily, bashing the woman’s head into the steering wheel. The man was taken into custody for domestic battery. Multiple hit and runs were also reported at the 2014 Jason Aldean concert as attendees exited the parking lot.

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