B.C. country music star Dallas Smith has called out what he described as “disgusting” behaviour by audience members during a performance this week in Dawson Creek.
In a tweet, Smith said he watched “girls and guys punching, pulling hair, groping girls,” from the stage Tuesday night at the Encana Events Centre.
He went on to say that “most fans were great,” but had a strongly worded message condemning the behavior of those that he said ruined the night.
“Grow the [explicit] up,” he wrote.
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Smith, who was born and raised in Langley and is now on a North American tour, has received a mix of backlash and praise for speaking out – from fans, other musicians and local politicians.
Tweeted fan Emily Wheat: “I hope your (sic) not willing to throw our entire town into this category as many residents did not attend and many concert goers (sic) aren’t even from Dawson creek but the surrounding areas.”
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Dawson Creek Mayor Dale Bumstead took to Facebook, saying comments like Smith’s can make a signficant impact on a city’s reputation and future economic opportunities.
“My heart, my stomach, my body hurts when someone makes a discouraging comment about our city,” Bumstead wrote.
“Reputation IS everything. We work so hard day in and day out to build our communities reputation as a community that has a great quality of life. Very sad day for me right now.”
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Country singer Brett Kissel, who’s visiting the city in March, indirectly called Smith’s tweet “foolish” and told Dawson Creek their city is great.
Smith was quick to reply to Kissel’s remarks, saying he was “standing up to the groping, sucker punches and assaults on concertgoers.”
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One attendee, Brandi Daly, Tweted she had her hair pulled, a drink spilled on her and “some random guy pulled my friend out of the crowd.”
In another Tweet, she said she’s been to other performances in Dawson Creek, including for Papa Roach and Dean Brody, and said she’s never seen concertgoers in the city act in such a way.
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Smith has three B.C. tour stops left: Kamloops on Nov. 16, Penticton on Nov. 17 and Abbotsford on Nov. 18.
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