A 36-year-old man died after collapsing at a King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard concert in Denver, Colorado, on Friday evening. Mathew Gawiak, a geospatial scientist and devoted fan of the Australian band, fell ill about an hour into the performance at the Field of Vision Festival.
Emergency medical staff rushed through the crowd to assist him, but despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. His brother Christopher, who was with him, later wrote on Reddit: 'I watched my brother die right in front of me and I was powerless to do anything about it.'
The band stopped their set to alert medics and were livestreaming the concert on YouTube at the time, but the video has since been removed. In a joint statement, King Gizzard and the venue Meadow Creek expressed deep sadness, sending condolences to the family and the band's community.
Christopher described his brother as 'the kindest most genuine person' and a 'diehard Gizzard fan'. Mathew, who survived cancer as a child, earned a master's degree and worked as a scientist. A GoFundMe page has raised over £40,000 to support his family.
