“Malfunctioning fireworks provided additional drama for the finale of a symphony concert held Thursday evening, Aug. 17, at the Bluestem amphitheater in Moorhead,” writes Dave Olson in Friday’s (8/18) Inforum.com (Fargo, N.D.). “Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ was being played at the end of the Symphony Rocks Concert when fireworks that should have been shooting into the air above the concert fired sideways instead, sending burning material toward musicians and audience members. One female musician suffered minor singeing to her hair and blouse, but otherwise it is not believed there were any injuries, said Linda Boyd, executive director of the F-M Symphony Orchestra, whose musicians joined with Post-Traumatic Funk Syndrome to host a tribute to legends of rock who have died. The problem was apparently a manufacturing flaw in one of the shells, according to Boyd.… Boyd said it was the first time the symphony had used fireworks for its annual concert at Bluestem and it will likely be the last. ‘That’s probably a one and done,’ she said. The fireworks problem caused the musicians to briefly stop playing, but after it became clear no one had been seriously injured, the music resumed.”
Posted August 22, 2017
