Just as Jelly Roll started to wrap up his opening set at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Monday night, Bre Flynn said she was struck in the head by one of the pyrotechnics cascading from the top of the arena.
“I don’t know what you call it, but it was coming down and it was raining flames, and they were flying everywhere,” the 24-year-old told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday night.
“I was taking a video of me singing ‘Save Me’ (and) at the end of the song, you could see the flame hit me in my head and it felt really hard.”
In the TikTok video, Flynn can be seen standing on the floor of the Rogers Centre singing along with the country star as what appears to be fireworks trickle-down from the ceiling above. At one point, an errant pyrotechnic can be seen hitting the Torontonian’s head, with smoke soon after billowing from her scalp.
It wasn’t until Flynn was told that her hair was on fire that she could comprehend what just happened.
“I started freaking out because I clued in to what was happening and it was so scary,” Flynn said.
More fireworks descended from the ceiling, Flynn said, adding many of the concertgoers in her row started “ducking in fear.”
Soon after, Flynn said she approached security at the end of the aisle for some help. She says she was handed a water bottle to pour on her head before another staff member approached her and brought her toward the first aid centre.
Initially when she was getting examined by the health-care personnel on site, Flynn said they couldn’t quite find the burn mark on the back of her head. Then a “very strong” smell permeated the air, Flynn added.
“The lady was like, ‘Do you smell burning hair?’” Flynn said, adding she asked staff to take a photo “for proof.”
In the photo provided to CTV News Toronto, a blackish, singed mark—about the size of a penny or nickel—is visible near the top of Flynn’s scalp.
At that point, Flynn said she wasn’t feeling 100 per cent, had a bad headache, and couldn’t properly answer the questions that she was being asked, which she notes was likely due to the shock of what happened.
Because of that, she missed Post Malone—the headlining act—perform.
“You could hear him from the first aid room but it really (did) suck, because I missed the whole concert and all that,” Flynn said.
This morning, she said a “chunk” of her hair fell out and found inexplicable “pieces” tangled in her hair. She says she has scheduled an appointment with her doctor for Wednesday, and hopes her hair grows back.
The fan is ultimately grateful for Rogers Centre’s aid, noting they even gave her free merch for her troubles as she was heading out for the night, but she wants to see some accountability and acknowledgement from the tour organizers.
“I want the tour organization, whoever runs the tour, to fix the fire parts of the show, so it doesn’t (happen again),” Flynn said, so that nobody else has to experience what she did and miss out on a performance.
CTV News Toronto contacted Live Nation, Jelly Roll’s representation and the Rogers Centre for comment.
