‘An amazing show’: Concert-goers talk Zach Bryan’s Lincoln concert

Zach Bryan’s concert in Lincoln delayed for three hours and cut short by lightning. But regular concertgoers Joe Cummings and his daughter say the night was special.”These are the nights you can’t plan them,” Cummings said. “They end up being some of the best memories down the road.”They traveled from Kansas City to attend the event. “We can’t predict the weather,” he said. “They obviously took the stage with full intentions of putting on an amazing show, which they did.” But Cummings said the crowd of people trying to enter was more than just uncomfortable.”If something happened, it would definitely have been dangerous,” he said. Tiffany Ott, another attendee, agreed it was dangerous.”I don’t know if it was just because everybody went in literally all at once,” she said, “because I went to the Garth Brooks concert there… there was nothing like this.”Ott added that the staff seemed overwhelmed as crowds entered. She said some attendees were shoving and yelling. Although lightning cut the show short, one 11-year-old from Granger, Iowa, described the night as the best of her life. Along a line hoping to see Bryan exit, she said “I kind of like screamed a little bit. And then he just like gave me the guitar.” The guitar is signed by Zach Bryan himself.”I think he did a great job performing amidst all of the challenges. We’ve been to a lot of concerts, and the people there were just really good and welcoming,” she said. “It was just really fun.”Nebraska Athletics responseThe University of Nebraska Athletic Department told KETV the protocols for concerts and weather and the same as football gamedays. They keep a meteorologist on site to assist in event management.The spokesperson said in a statement: “Saturday’s weather and its unpredictable and changing nature certainly added challenges to the management of the Zach Bryan concert. Despite being delayed by a few hours we were pleased that the concert ultimately was able to take place. As an athletic department, we have had discussions about what operated well and how we can better communicate both internally and externally to ensure ticket holders receive pertinent information as quickly and efficiently as possible. We look forward to hosting successful and safe events later this year in Memorial Stadium.The Big Red Rebuild project and upcoming modernization of Memorial Stadium can only help the hosting of large events such as Saturday’s concert. A modernized stadium with larger gate areas and better connectivity to all areas of the stadium will make for more efficient and quicker fan movement when entering and exiting the facility.”