Live Nation officially has another fat settlement check they have to pay out.
The entertainment company has been catching heat over the past few months following the news that both Live Nation and Ticketmaster were liable for violating antitrust laws and operating as an illegal monopoly (charming, right?). Now the corrupt ticketing corporation is back in the news following the announcement that they’ve officially settled another controversial lawsuit.
In the much smaller-scale case, Live Nation was sued by a man named Gary Stanhope who was severely injured in a “prolonged” brawl at a 2022 Luke Bryan concert in Hartford, Connecticut. Apparently, some rowdy concertgoers at Bryan’s Raised Up Right Tour failed to live up to the tour’s name, as Stanhope suffered from a traumatic brain injury following the fight.
He later sued Live Nation in 2024 for the altercation at Hartford’s Meadows Music Theatre, claiming that security had failed to step in for several minutes during a fight between a man and woman nearby. Instead, Stanhope stepped in to try to resolve the violent behavior, which is when the attack happened, leading to his injuries.
In his lawsuit, he alleged that Live Nation was negligent in the situation and that they failed to hire enough security even though they “knew that fights regularly broke out at this music venue.” Remind me to never go to the Connecticut amphitheatre.
In response, Live Nation rebutted, claiming they had hired 116 security guards and more than a dozen off-duty police officers, noting that there was more than enough required staff for an event the size of Bryan’s show. They also claimed the fight was “instantaneous and unforeseeable” and even called out Stanhope for being so intoxicated that he couldn’t remember the full extent of what had occurred or the security levels of the venue.
The case remained undismissed by Judge Janet C. Hall of Connecticut, who stated, “Mr. Stanhope and various witnesses assert that there was a rowdy crowd, a lack of security enforcement, a prolonged fight, and a delayed response from the EMT once Mr. Stanhope was assaulted.” Adding, “A reasonable juror could find that it was foreseeable that Mr. Stanhope would be injured under these circumstances.”
Two years later, the case was finally dismissed yesterday, August 13, after both sides notified Judge Hall that they had come to a settlement last month. Neither side reported what the final resolution reparations were.
Luckily, Luke Bryan was also not involved in the lawsuit to any extent. With that being said— would now be a bad time to plug his 2026 Word On The Street tour?
As long as you keep your hands to yourself, the country music superstar is known to have one of the most entertaining concert experiences and will return to the stage tonight in Mountain View, CA followed by another month of touring wrapping up on September 26 in East Troy, WI. He’ll top things off with a final end-of-the-year co-headlining show with Jason Aldean on December 11 in Las Vegas.
Tour Dates:
- 8-14 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
- 8-15 Long Beach, CA Long Beach Amphitheater
- 8-16 San Diego, CA PETCO Park *Double Down Tour
- 8-20 Washington, DC Nationals Park *Double Down Tour
- 8-22 Charlotte, NC Truliant Amphitheater
- 8-26 Canandaigua, NY Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center
- 8-27 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre
- 8-29 Saratoga Springs, NY Albany Med Health System at SPAC
- 9-10 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
- 9-12 West Palm Beach, FL iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
- 9-17 Latrobe, PA 1846 Farms FARM TOUR
- 9-18 Millersport, OH Miller Family Farm FARM TOUR
- 9-19 Brookston, IN Prairie View Farms FARM TOUR
- 9-20 Allegan, MI John Schaendorft Dairy FARM TOUR
- 9-24 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena **Luke Bryan & FRIENDS
- 9-26 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theatre
- 12-11 Las Vegas, NV Allegiant Stadium *Double Down Tour