A riot erupted at the Mexico City leg of Knotfest 2019 over the weekend. On Saturday, Slipknot and Evanescence were forced to cancel their set after a stage barricade was broken.

In reaction to the cancellation, punters incited a riot, torching Evanescence’s drum kit and destroying both their’s and Slipknot’s gear. Fan shot footage has captured the pandemonium, showing thousands of upset punters storming the grounds. You can witness the scene for yourself below.

Watch: Riot erupts at Knotfest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77L5gExBQjI

Evanescence released a series of statements pertaining to the incident. “Mexico City, we are so, so disappointed that we didn’t get our chance to play for you tonight at Knotfest. The last couple of bands didn’t get to play because of a safety issue with the barricades and it wasn’t something that could be fixed. We are so sorry,” frontwoman Amy Lee shared in a video. “We love you so much. We were waiting there, just like you, hoping that we would get our chance, but it didn’t work out tonight. I don’t know how, but somehow we are going to make it up to you. We love you so much. We’ll see you next time.”

They followed this initial statement up with a Facebook post, gracefully acknowledging the destruction of the gear.

“Even though we are devastated by the destruction of our instruments and gear, we do not see the violent end to last night as a representation of our Mexican fans, or the Mexican people. 50,000 people were there, and sadly a handful of them turned to anger and violence after the cancellation. You have shown us an incredible amount of love from the very beginning, and we will always come back for you.

Slipknot took to Twitter to address the cancellation, apologising for not appearing at the festival and promising to rectify the situation.

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“Because of a broken barricade and failed attempts to fix it, Slipknot were forced to cancel our performance last night. Safety — especially the safety of our fans and fellow bands — is priority number one. We apologize profusely and hope you all understand. If anything were to happen to any of you, we wouldn’t forgive ourselves. Also, if we could have fixed the barricade correctly, we would have gone on stage. Again, we hope you all understand and we will try to make it up to you as soon as we can.”

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