Cheap Trick sue over festival stage collapse

The members of Cheap Trick were almost seriously injured or killed when the stage where they were performing collapsed at the Ottawa Blues Festival.

The incident, from July of 2011, occurred when an incoming storm front produced a 73 MPH wind causing the metal on uprights to buckle and collapse onto the stage. While the members of the band were able to get off the stage, thanks to the quick thinking of Robin Zander, three other individuals were injured and required hospitalization, including one of the band's roadies.

Cheap Trick manager Dave Frey told Rolling Stone "It was like the Titanic or something, and it just started coming down. The roof fell. It hit our truck, which was parked behind the stage and that kept it about five feet off of the deck, and that gave us room to run. We were running as fast as we could."

The band has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the Ottawa Blues Festival and the companies responsible for the stage, sound and lighting in compensation for the incident. The suit says that the organizers put "economic consideration over…safety" going on to state that the they did not monitor the incoming weather status and were not prepared for such an emergency. In addition, it states that the technicians failed to remove "wind walls" on the structure which increased the chance of a collapse.

The suit is broken down as $400,000 for damaged equipment and $600,000 for actions taken after the incident including renting equipment and additional labor.

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