![](https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/630e83532e8ec6f348c08c7f/16:9/w_1280,c_limit/crowd.jpg)
Accessible Festivals has announced a new program to give free concert tickets to fans with disabilities. The Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program will provide tickets to major music festivals including Austin City Limits, Electric Daisy Carnival, Lollapalooza, BottleRock Napa Valley, Rolling Loud NY, Stagecoach, and more.
The program is spearheaded by Austin Whitney, founder of Accessible Festivals, and was inspired by his own experience attending concerts as a disabled person. A 2007 car accident left Whitney paralyzed from the waist down, causing him depression and anxiety. That year, he was able to attend the annual Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, which helped him get through the difficulties of adjusting to life with disabilities.
“Ultimately my business life is all about working to improve festivals for people with disabilities and working promoters to reduce their liabilities and improve their businesses for all things ADA [American with Disabilities Act],” Whitney shared with Billboard. “At the end of the day, the mission of the company is very tied to a social purpose which is making helping people with disabilities find and attend music festivals which can be transformative events.”
The program takes its name from Dan Grover, an early accessibility consultant for the live music industry who led ADA compliance operations with live music events including Electric Forest, Outside Lands, Lockn’, and Life is Beautiful, among others.
“Dan dealt with a lot of adversity in his life,” Whitney told Billboard. “One of his colleagues sent me an Excel sheet that he had, where he basically took notes on every concert he went to in his life. He would write down where it was, who the band was and what the venue was. And then his accessibility notes on it, going back to 1979. He absolutely fell in love with it and became an advocate for accessibility within the industry.”
Each participating festival has made accessibility a priority, with well-established ADA Compliance programs that are consistent with Accessible Festival recommendations. For more information about Accessible Festivals and the Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program, visit their official website.
![](https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/630e83532e8ec6f348c08c7f/master/pass/crowd.jpg)
Tagged: entertainment blog, music blog, NEWS