How a Tragic Loss Led to This Groundbreaking Event Safety Initiative

The inaugural Showstop Procedure training and certification takes place in Houston this month in honor of Madison Dubiski, who was 23 when she was killed at the Astroworld Festival in 2021.

Twenty-three-year-old Madison Dubiski loved the color pink. By the time she graduated high school, she’d spent more than 500 hours volunteering in the areas of childhood cancer and special needs. According to her dad, Brian, “When she talked to you, you felt like you were the most important person in the room.”

On Nov. 5, 2021, Madison and nine other attendees were killed in a fatal crowd crush during the Astroworld Festival in Houston, which also injured more than 300 people.

The tragedy sparked her parents, Brian and Michelle Dubiski, to launch the Pink Bows Foundation in her honor. “When tragedy happens, you feel helpless. You’re in a dark place just trying to find some light—and we knew what we could control was how we honored her,” Brian Dubiski told BizBash. He was struck by the stats: Since 1996, over 175 people have lost their lives at U.S. concerts, with over 722 deaths reported globally due to event-related crowd incidents—82% of which were caused by preventable hazards.

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