EDM OK Again At UMass

The school canceled a number of EDM concerts at the Mullins Center in the fall, and appeared alarmed by the number of reports of overdoses at such events.

“The Molly-taking culture at these shows is real and now exceedingly dangerous to the health and safety of concert attendees,” the school explained in a statement at the time.

UMass has changed its tune.

“It’s a different time and place. Our sense from public health and police is that the availability of the drug is not really at the level it was before. It’s not an epidemic,” Ed Blaguszewski, spokesperson for UMASS Amherst, told the local WGGB-TV.

NV Concepts, which has promoted EDM shows at the school, said it has worked to ensure safety at future events.

“Any time you throw an event, just from a responsibility standpoint, we take that into account in terms of people potentially doing drugs at events. And so for us we’re focused on moving forward with the venues and trying to make those events as safe as possible,” NV Concepts co-founder Tim Benito told WGGB.

To that end, a September show will feature increased security, 13 EMTs and two ambulances on site, and free water, the station said.