Accessible Festivals launched its Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program, offering free tickets to concerts, festivals and conventions for disabled music fans and their loved ones. The nonprofit organization is teaming with events including Austin City Limits Music Festival, BottleRock Napa Valley, Electric Daisy Carnival, Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud NY, Stagecoach and more in the landmark initiative.
Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program namesake Dan Grover sadly passed away on July 27, 2022. Born in 1962, Grover was later diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy and began using a wheelchair for mobility at the age of 21. Dan’s first show was a Yes concert in 1979 and due to a lack of accessibility a friend helped him into the show on piggyback. Grover’s passion for music led him to attend 400 concerts including 50 Grateful Dead shows. Finding ways to navigate with his wheelchair led him to another passion — helping disabled concertgoers gain access to shows as one of the first Accessibility Consultants in the live music industry.
Grover’s legacy lives on in the Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program, conceived by Accessible Festivals founder Austin Whitney. Press materials for the program shared Austin’s experience:
In 2007, Whitney was injured in a car accident that severed his spinal cord and paralyzed him from the waist down. He was consumed with depression and anxiety about his new life living with a disability. Eight months later, he attended Coachella, his first music festival. For the first time since his spinal cord injury, he was able to smile and simply enjoy life. Music festivals like this one got him through the most difficult challenge of his life. With the realization of the importance of festival accessibility, he decided to devote his life to ensuring people of all abilities can have an equal opportunity to experience live music and recreational activities to the fullest extent possible.
Accessible Festivals invites individuals impacted by newly acquired, temporary, or lifelong disabilities to apply for complimentary access to a number of the events listed above and more. Head here for more info on the Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program.
