Fighting at Cody Pennington concert in Southampton

Attendees say they were in “complete shock” following the incident at the Cody Pennington concert in Southampton.

The Nashville country music star was performing what was believed to be his final song of the night at Central Hall on October 1 when groups of people started fighting.

'It all kicked off'

Danielle Battle was sat two rows from the front with her friend Danni Lenton when the drama unfolded.

The 42-year-old from Winchester said: “We hadn’t really heard of Cody before this, but he was brilliant.

Danielle Battle (left) and Danni Lenton at the concert (Image: Danielle Battle)

“I have worked in bars before so I have an eye for when things like this are going to happen.

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“There was a large group of people to our left and we could see they were getting rowdy. And there was a guy on top of someone’s shoulders and security couldn’t get him down.

“Then it all kicked off and Cody had to stop.”

'We never expected it'

Danielle and Danni decided to get up and move away from the scene unfolding before them.

A few moments after they moved, a full fight broke out and chairs were thrown across the venue floor.

Danielle said: “As we moved out of the way there was a swell of people and suddenly our chairs were upside down.

“It seemed like there were three separate fights happening at one time and we were both in complete shock.

“We never expected this behaviour at the concert. It was madness. Security were not equipped to deal with it.

“It doesn’t bear thinking about that this was Cody’s first impression of Southampton." 

'The show itself was fantastic'

In light of this incident, Cody Pennington has announced he will perform a second concert free of charge for all previous attendees at The 1865 next month.

He confirmed “extra measures” will be taken to avoid a similar situation from occurring again.

Cody Pennington performing in Southampton (Image: Cody Pennington)

Cody said: “The show itself was fantastic and we have received hundreds of messages from attendees saying how much fun they had.

"It was unfortunate that a fight occurred during the last song of the night.

“The security staff and I attempted to control the situation, but I felt it was best to ask “people to leave for their safety.

This was obviously not the ending we wanted and certainly not the atmosphere we want to promote with the show.

“With the help of those at The Gig Cartel, I was able to book a new date for my Southampton friends on November 27 at The 1865.

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“Tickets are currently free of charge and only available to those with tickets to the previous event. These can be requested from my website www.codypennington.com

“We will be taking extra measures to make sure that everyone is safe and has a good time for the entirety of the show.

“We want to make sure we end the night right this time.”

Police were called to the scene to help break up the brawl.

However, the force has confirmed no formal complaints were made.

Speaking on Cody’s upcoming show, Danielle said: “It’s going to be good.

“We are so grateful Cody has offered to do this.”

Central Hall were approached for a comment.