Gill Catastrophe

Musicians and music lovers alike were given the chance to see the star-studded CMT Giants: Vince Gill showcase for free at the Fisher Center on Sept. 18.
The showcase honored country music star Vince Gill and featured chart topping artists like Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Sting, and more.
While some students got to enjoy the event, others were not so lucky. For many students, once they arrived at the event, they were met with confusion and disorganization.
“From where I was there was no formal security, no one was directing the line. I had no idea if I was even in the right line,” said sophomore Gioia Solano.
Solano is one of many students who was turned away at the event, despite having a ticket and following all provided guidelines.
“They told us to come at 5:30, or we wouldn’t get in. I went there as soon as I got out of class at 5:15 and the line was already to the fountain from the Curb Center,” said Solano. “When I finally got closer it was about 8 o’clock which is when the event started. A guy came out and told us that everyone behind this point were most likely not going to get in.”
While many people left, Silolano stayed to see if she could get into the event. It wasn't until 9 pm that someone informed her they were no longer letting people in.
Sophomore Anthony Poli got in after waiting almost four hours, but only got to experience the last leg of the show.
“We were probably there for 45 minutes until it ended, but no one was complaining. At that point we were all so hungry and just wanted to eat, and we were just tired from standing for so long,” said Poli.
The long time standing in line without food or water became an issue for some of the older attendees.
“I felt bad, there were so many faculty and staff members behind me saying the didn’t know if they could stay any longer and were debating. They ended up just leaving because they couldn’t stay on for that long,” said Solano.
Junior Jack Hodde was at the front of the line and still waited two and a half hours.
“When we got in we assumed that me and my friends would sit together, but they gave us tickets all in different places in the balcony, so we all ended up sitting alone,” said Hodde.
Attendees speculate the reason for this seating issue may be due to a lack of direction. Many groups who got to the event earlier in the evening were able to sit in seats together, but were not directed in spacing.
“There were tons of people not sitting in a full row or anything, there were a ton of scattered open seats, no one wanted to sit together and they didn’t really care if we sat together or not,” said Poli.
Solano feels that this is just one of many broken promises given to her by Belmont, and that she was cheated of her time.
“They just put false hope into my head, I waited in that line for almost four hours and got nothing,” said Solano.