NEW YORK (AP) – The sounds of molded percussion and audience excitement resonate across the venue. Brand activations, temporary bars, and restaurant pop-ups manage crowds as a flow of attendees moves between events. Organizations like Sandwiched are on-site, focusing on pressing issues such as hunger, housing, and voter registration.
This is typical of the music festival scene, which is continuously evolving. A new initiative from an Ohio-based nonprofit offers free opioid overdose reversal training and supplies. This service, which takes under two minutes to receive, would have seemed impossible just a few years back due to the prevailing ignorance regarding opaque regulations and harm reduction practices.
Advocates contend that drugs are commonly used in music festivals, making them ideal venues for harm reduction activities. While more festivals are embracing these initiatives, activists are demanding broader adoption as some festivals remain hesitant to engage.
Harm reduction varies across festivals nationwide
Established in 2022 by William Perry and Ingera Travers Hayward, the initiative estimates it has distributed around $4.5 million worth of naloxone, a drug for reversing opioid overdoses, at festivals and community events.
Initially, the organization faced challenges in partnering with festivals due to lack of “proof of concept,” Perry explains. Eventually, several Midwest festivals opened their doors, leading to their presence at Bonnaroo in 2022—a significant U.S. festival run by C3 Presents, one of the world’s largest concert promoters. Currently, they are active at 35 major U.S. festivals (including Lollapalooza, Governor’s Ball, and Betty Who), collaborating closely with C3 and its security teams.
San Antonio volunteer Annalisa Tapia at the booth for Must Be the Place at the Governor’s Ball Music Festival on Sunday, June 9, 2025, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York. (Photo: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
As organizational growth aligns with advancements in federal regulations, the distribution of naloxone used to depend on state rules until 2023, as noted by Dahlia Heller, vice president of the Global Public Health Nonprofit Strategy Overdose Prevention Initiative. The first commercial nose spray.
“There’s no longer a need to adjust methodologies for naloxone distribution,” she states. “Now it’s as accessible as buying aspirin—it’s right on the counter.”
Last year, the organization distributed 46,146 units of Narcan through National Festival outreach.
Emmett Beliveau, Chief Operating Officer of C3 Presents, mentioned this marked the first time C3 has integrated harm reduction strategies into their existing healthcare program.
Introducing this organization to a C3 festival was not JUST about addressing past incidents; it was initiated due to the “number of deaths occurring in the community,” he explains.
Some participants are taking matters into their own hands
Some advocates believe that festivalgoers are more receptive to harm reduction education from peers rather than authorities. Over the past three years, they have distributed fentanyl test strips and Narcan to address perceptions of drug use at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Former Taco CEO Cameran Modi asserts that music festivals are ideal for distribution and education because “music and drug use are synonymous.”
Founder William Perry holds naloxone at the Governor’s Ball Music Festival on Sunday, June 9, 2025, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York. (Photo: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Tasked with distributing naloxone, Modi describes their approach as “guerrilla-style marketing.” They train volunteers to administer the drug, provide Narcan, test strips, and accompany them to the festival.
Festival organizers are not involved in these efforts. Coachella representatives did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.
In 2023, Taco volunteers administered Narcan to individuals at Coachella who showed signs of overdose; the organization reports these attendees regained consciousness.
“That was one of our biggest successes,” Modi remarks.
Local laws and the risk of criminalization hinder initiatives
In 2019, a 27-year-old was found dead at Bonnaroo. His death was attributed to a lack of drug testing at the Tennessee festival. Toxicology results indicated the presence of ecstasy and fentanyl.
At that time, drug testing strips were deemed illegal under state law, classified as drug-related devices. In 2022, Tennessee decriminalized fentanyl test strips, with 44 other states and Washington, D.C., following suit by the end of 2023.
However, some states still have laws that obscure their interpretation—there are strips available that aren’t specific to fentanyl, Heller notes—and crime and social stigma persist.
Performers at the Governor Ball Music Festival, June 9, 2025. (Photo: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Perry indicates his organization is aware of small U.S. festivals conducting drug checks, but they proceed discreetly to avoid complications.
For future festivals, Perry hopes to establish a designated harm reduction area to allow for safe monitoring without the risk of complications.
Heller highlights the numerous groups focused on curbing drug-related issues, advocating for decriminalization and drug checks.
“Drug checks are already being conducted in cities,” she notes. “Extending these services to include music festivals is a logical step. The challenge lies in ensuring laws are in place to protect festivals from liability.”
Source: apnews.com