Arts Center restarts ‘postponed’ concert after fans sent home

HOLMDEL — Hundreds of fans are upset at PNC Bank Arts Center after they were made to believe that storms had postponed Thursday night's Florida Georgia Line concert only to find out — once they were on their way home — that the concert was restarted later that night.

The concert began at 7 p.m. as rainfall got heavier. At 8 p.m., an announcement said the concert was being stopped because of the severe weather.

"At one point the rain was so heavy that you couldn't see in front of you. It was like sitting outside in a hurricane. It was crazy!" Kelly Murphy Greene, of Forked River, said.

“If you are under the roof, stay in place," an announcer said. "If you are on the lawn, please return to your cars. Stay tuned to your social media. We will alert you when and if the show will start again.”

Greene said that "no one really listened at first. Everybody was going crazy ... but then security escorted everyone out."

Greene, who had a lawn seat, waited in her sister's car until 9 p.m.

"Security kept saying leave, the show is postponed, you'll get refunded or you'll get notified about a rescheduled date. I said to one guy, 'Are you positive it's been postponed?' And he said, 'Absolutely. It's been postponed. There's signs everywhere saying its postponed. Get home safe.' So we left," Greene said.

As Greene got to the Garden State Parkway's Monmouth service area in Wall, the Arts Center's Twitter account said the concert would resume at 10 p.m.

"Weather and safety comes first but you don't tell people to leave and then re-start the show after half the people already left," Greene said.

Many at the show had also left and took to the Arts Center's social media platforms to express the anger at the situation.

The PNC Bank Arts Center did not immediately return a request for comment Friday afternoon.