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The crowd swelled as a DJ kept the hype going at the City Stage, while the Migos trio of rappers Quavo, Offset and Takeoff remained backstage.

A Bluesfest official came onstage to plead with the crowd to take a step back, and security was kept busy pulling people out of the crowd.

Another disturbing trend materialized when what appeared to be full cans of beer sailed through the air, no doubt landing on some hapless fan up front. There were also several reports describing groups of people throwing rocks at security guards. A security guard, his head bandaged, said he was one of several guards struck by flying rocks thrown by unruly and unwelcome guests.

Photo by Wayne Cuddington / Postmedia

Several people were seen dragged out of the sweaty crowd with blood dripping down their faces, though security later said there were no serious injuries.

Volunteers told several people wearing VIP badges to keep the passes close, as there were several reports of passes being lifted in the fast-moving crowd.

The mayhem continued after Migos finally hit the stage at 7:45, with the Auto-tune MCs demanding the crowd get their hands up as they played the tunes that made them BET’s group of the year, with Get Right Witcha, Slippery, What the Price and Bad & Boujee.

But it may have been their tune Fight Night, with a video screen projecting classic boxing matches, that best captured the spirit of this night.

Photo by Wayne Cuddington / Postmedia

The crush continued as Migos ended their set at 8:30 p.m. sharp, then demanded the crowd rush over to the neighbouring Claridge Stage for “my brother,” fellow Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty.

Streams of fans made the haphazard dash across the Canadian War Museum lawn to stake out a space at the side stage.

One contracted security guard, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday’s young crowd was considerably more challenging than on most Bluesfest nights.

Photo by Wayne Cuddington / Postmedia

“It’s like a war zone out there tonight,” he said, minutes after two of his fellow guards were “jumped” by a group of young men trying to burst through Gate 2. That altercation brought several Ottawa police officers running to the scene, though there was no immediate word on charges.

“People just want to fight us for some reason,” the guard said. “It’s crazy out there.”

There was no immediate word on arrests, though several gate-crashers were seen escorted away by police. Others tried to break through the secure fence on the north side of the Canadian War Museum, but were eventually corralled by security.