Lead rigger dies while setting up Coachella festival

Content Warning: This article discusses death

49-year-old Christopher Griffin of San Diego died while setting up a stage at festival juggernaut Coachella.

A lead rigger who had been on the Coachella team for 20 years fell on Saturday while working on a stage in the Southern California desert. He fell at least 60 feet from scaffolding.

His death was confirmed by the festival’s promoter Goldenvoice.

“Today, Goldenvoice lost a colleague, a friend, a family member,” Goldenvoice said. “Our friend fell while working on a festival stage. It is with heavy hearts and tremendous difficulty that we confirm his passing. He has been with our team for 20 years in the desert and was doing what he loved.

“He was a hard-working and loving person that cared deeply about his team. As our lead rigger, he was responsible for the countless incredible shows that have been put on at the festival. We will miss him dearly.”

Coachella grounds at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California

TMZ has reported an eyewitness said the worker didn’t have a safety harness tethered to a cable to stop him from falling.

The six-day festival, spread over two long weekends, is scheduled to begin on Friday. Aussies Tame Impala, Parcels and Mansionair are set to join Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino and Janelle Monae as they take to the Coachella stages this year.

Solange Knowles has been removed from this year’s lineup due to “major production delays” as cited by the Coachella Twitter account.

Due to major production delays, Solange will unfortunately no longer be performing at this year’s festival. She sends her sincerest apologies, and looks forward to performing at Coachella in the future.

— Coachella (@coachella) April 8, 2019

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.