Thousands gathered for the second day of the Tortuga Music Festival Saturday with ramped up security measures after nine people were killed at the Astroworld Festival in Houston. NBC 6’s Kim Wynne reports.
Big name music artists from country music to rock have been hitting the stage with thousands of music lovers pouring onto Las Olas Beach for the Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale.
“The vibe was great,” festival goer Malorie Chauvin said. “Everyone just seemed in a great mood. Great atmosphere.”
That great atmosphere was mixed with caution as many are on high alert after the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston.
Because of that, extra police officers, security, and medical help have been on hand at the festival in case anything goes wrong.
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“It made me feel a little bit nervous going into this,” Chauvin said.
Nine people were killed and dozens were injured after concertgoers rushed the stage at the Astroworld Festival last weekend.
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“I thought it was sad that so many people were hurt and how a lot of them were super young,” festival goer Jalyn Moore said.
With 30,000 people expected at Tortuga throughout the weekend, safety has been top of mind.
“I feel like Tortuga is doing a good job, making sure everyone is separated and like, individual, and there’s a lot more room here,” Moore said.
Law enforcement officials say surveillance cameras are everywhere keeping an eye on the crowd.
Police say they’ve been working on their security plan for months but took note of what went wrong in Houston and ramped things up, saying every inch of the festival has been inspected: every stage, structure, and vendor area.
Festival goers like Chauvin say they feel safe and can feel the extra security presence.
“It seems like they handled everything really well,” Chauvin said.
“Never for one second felt anything questionable," fellow festival goer Neil Saffer said. “Cops were great. Security was great.”
First responders have set up a makeshift emergency room at the festival just in case.
