A popular musician has gone viral after stopping his set halfway through to call out the crowd for their “rowdy” behavior.
German DJ Marlon Hoffstadt, who also goes by DJ Daddy Trance, electrified his fans with trance and house music during Adelaide, Australia’s Wildlands Festival on January 5.
But during his set, the 29-year-old stopped midway through to remind the crowd to stay hydrated and pleaded with them to “chill out” a little bit.
“As much as I love you all, and as sick as it is to play for you guys, from here it looks f—king rowdy down there,” he announced.
“That is not a compliment. Everyone drink some water, look out for each other and chill a f—king bit.
“I know it’s so nice but let’s chill a bit.”
Taking to social media, Hoffstadt said that he had “really noticed” more concerning behavior doing shows in Australia compared to back home in Europe.
“There is one thing I’ve really noticed at all these festivals is people passing out,” the DJ said on Instagram.
“I know that going crazy, doing drugs and stuff is fun, I’ve been there, done that, but to create a safer space on the dance floor there are a few things that need to exist.
“One of them is the safe use of drugs and to watch out for each other. I’ve seen so many people passing out, really young people passing out.
“Maybe it is time to educate yourself on what these drugs can do to you. For me, it’s not fun seeing people pass out during my set and being carried out by security.
“It is also not fun to stop my music because someone in the middle can’t get out of the crowd.
“I think just do a little less. Guys drink some water, do a little bit less, go longer not faster.
“It can be really f—king dangerous.”
While the buzzing pit reacted well to Hoffstadt’s concerned speech during his set, others have pointed out how “embarrassing” it was that it had come to this point.
“Obviously we don’t get many international artists to Australia all that often, I get it, we’re all excited,” Australian musician Remy Ondrey said in a clip posted to TikTok.
“I also get that the drugs are not that great here, so people feel like they have to smash more of them.
“But it’s to the point where a DJ has to f—king stop their set … it’s so embarrassing.
“In Australia we have an epidemic of straight men that feel like they can just take up space and make it everyone else’s problem.
“It affects the artist and it affects all of the other patrons around them that are trying to have a good time. They’re getting pushed around, not even having fun at a festival.”
Ondrey added that although he had been in festivals all over the world, he feels like it is only Australia that has this issue with anti-social behavior at festivals.
“Why do we have this culture in Australia? It’s not like this anywhere else,” he said.
“I’ve been partying in Europe, America and a lot of other places. It’s not the same vibe.
“Can we just get out s—t together? I’m actually over it. Why are we not educating ourselves about how to party safely?
“What the f—k is going on in Australia? It’s not like this anywhere else.”
According to Carly Dober, who is the principle psychologist and owner of Enriching Lives Psychology, this party hard culture is entrenched within Australian identity.
She added that at times, this can cause poor and even dangerous behaviour at these type of events.
“Many Australians take pride in our identity as a ‘nation of partiers’ and self-identify with this,” Dober told news.com.au.
“This includes behaviors like polysubstance use, poor festival or concert etiquette like aggression, and at times potentially dangerous behavior.
“Monash University recently explored substance use at Australian festivals, and found that substance use among music festival attendees is disproportionally high compared with the general population.
“The recent survey of 2,305 participants at 23 festivals in Victoria reported that almost half (48 percent) had recently used drugs and 24 percent intended to take illicit drugs at the next festival.
“Substance use of any kind can loosen inhibitions, change behavior, and heat and tiredness can interplay with this.”
Dober also touched on that not only drug-taking, but binge drinking has become extremely “normalized” in everyday situations.
“There is a culture in Australia of binge drinking that has also been normalized,” she added.
“This type of behavior can be intimidating or scary to other attendees, and people who engage in this behavior can also find themselves not enjoying themselves as much as they would like to.
“General harm reduction strategies at music events are numerous and diverse.
“They range from the provision of water stations and free water bottles at events, to providing ‘pass outs’ or chill out and sanctuary spaces.
“They can also include engaging with expert organizations, who provide harm reduction information services and pill testing.
“The more that is done to address harm reduction at events, the more successful the outcomes are and the more of a pleasant experience it is for all attendees.”
Posting about the show to Instagram, Hoffstadt said “Adelaide that was madness! Thanks to everyone who came to my third and last @wildlandsfestival set.”
News.com.au has reached out to Marlon Hoffstadt’s management for comment.
