Blunts & Blondes Draws Massive Crowd at Okeechobee Despite Social Media Pushback

Blunts & Blondes’ music career may be back on the rise after seeing large support at Okeechobee Music Festival.

Despite all the public backlash against Blunts & Blondes, the DJ still managed to attract a huge crowd at Okeechobee Music Festival last weekend. Over the last few months, Mike Guard (aka Blunts & Blondes) was under investigation for sexual abuse allegations made by a woman named Gabriel Reinhardt.

On Twitter, Reinhardt came forward to detail an encounter she had with Blunts & Blondes at a Foam Wonderland event that happened back in 2019. She accused Guard of inappropriately touching her without consent and was asked to keep quiet about it.

Her words caused a massive uprising against Blunts & Blondes causing him to lose his headlining tour “Story of a Stoner” and drop off several other lineups. Guard remained silent on social media due to the ongoing police investigation, but eventually posted a statement claiming his innocence after Reinhardt decided not to pursue legal action.

“The past few months have been hard for me. People saying stuff about me when they don’t know me. People talking on a situation they don’t know. This girl came out with some b******t allegation and I lost my livelihood over it. She eventually pressed charges and I have been investigated by the police for the last 3 months. I got a call from the police department this week saying that the prosecution has decided NOT to prosecute. This girl has lied to you, lied to me, and lied to the police. I feel a little bit better knowing that my innocence is now proven.”

Blunts & Blondes’ statement ignited a debate among the electronic community, with some arguing lack of prosecution doesn’t equate to innocence, while others celebrated his newfound freedom. Despite being blacklisted on the majority of festival and venue lineups, Guard made a surprising return to the scene with performances at EDC Orlando and the recently concluded Okeechobee festival.

When the Okeechobee festival lineup dropped people were in an uproar about Blunts & Blondes being listed yet his group photo from last weekend would say otherwise. With no further charges against Guard and the obvious support he has from fans may allow for his career to still survive against all odds. It will be interesting to see if Blunts & Blondes will continue to be booked at future festival lineups this year.

Jaci Soukhathivong

An Atlanta gal chasing her love for electronic dance music. I’ve been with Exron since 2018 and have the privilege of contributing to the culture alongside other badass women whom I now call my friends. My introduction to the scene was first influenced by trap music, but my discography has since expanded to touch a bit of everything. Some of my favorite artists are Zeds Dead, Cloonee, Nghtmre, Flume, Infekt, Sosa, Bleu Clair, Subtronics, but the list goes on forever.

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