Storm floods stage and sound equipment, canceling Bay View's Chill on the Hill

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Chill on the Hill was supposed to kick off Tuesday night in Bay View, but due to some wild weather, the first concert of the season was canceled.

Organizers tell CBS 58 News as they were setting up for the concert, a strong storm rolled through causing chaos.

“It came out of nowhere and it kind of rolled up and over the hill, and it just hit us straight," said Patty Thompson, the executive producer of Chill on the Hill.

Thompson says crews had to hold down parts of the sound equipment so that they didn’t fly off the stage.

"It was pretty serious,” said Thompson.

After the storm went through, Thompson says all of their sound equipment was soaked and the stage was flooded.

"Everything was soaked to the bone," said Thompson. "Really all of the electronic equipment was soaked all the way through, and you need to give it a pretty serious amount of time to dry out before you can actually plug that in.”

Thompson says the event brings in around 3,000 people and hosts food and drink vendors. Those planning to attend say they were sad to see it canceled.

"It's a nice, you know, free way for people to get out the house, enjoy the weather when they can enjoy the weather," said Milwaukee resident Alyssa Birkeland.

Birkeland says she hopes the event is back on track next week.

“I hope they can get everything in order that they need to for the rest of the season," said Birkeland. "Hopefully doesn’t put them back too far."

Thompson says it doesn’t look like the sound equipment received permanent damage. She says it wouldn’t have been safe to operate Tuesday night after being soaked, especially with more storms on the way. She says they should be good to go for next week's concert.