Twenty-five thousand fans showed up to see Drake, Hanson and DJ Ninjasonik. The crowd was more then double what concert organizers expected.
Some of the fans got out of hand, throwing chairs, pushing and fighting.
Officers were called in to disperse the crowd shortly after an opening act went on.
Police and concert organizers decided to cancel the show, and the crowd got even more out of hand again when they were told they had to leave.
Two people have been arrested on minor charges; six have suffered minor injuries.
The concert was at the Seaport's Pier 17, where several free concerts are scheduled this summer.
In a statement, the South Street Seaport said, "Our primary concern is always the safety of our guests. Unfortunately, by the announced show time, both the Seaport management and NYPD estimated that the onsite crowd had greatly exceeded this safe capacity, was still rising, and the show could no longer be presented in a safe atmosphere. By 7:00PM, a decision was made in consultation with the police to cancel the event in order to foster the safe dispersal of the over-capacity crowd."
It was sponsored by Paper magazine, which calls the cancellation unfortunate.
Many people at the concert took to Twitter to sound off during the chaos. Below are some "tweets" that Eyewitness News logged:
Itsthereal: The free Drake show at South Street Seaport has (sort-of) turned into a riot. Drake is the new Bieber.
Brwnskinslim: STFU about drake not showing up at seaport! He was there, the cops didn't let him get on stage!
drakkardnoir: Police are shutting down the show at South Seaport! I'm on my way anyways...Drizzy Hendrix Woodstock 2010
thecultureofme: they only shut down the seaport drake show because it wasn't wheelchair accessible and jimmy couldn't get to the stage. #degrassi
Senyahhx3 Omgg Riot at South Street Seaport .. Drake performance canceled
richboy301: NYPD shut down Drake's free concert. Smh. Did he really thing a free concert at the seaport was gonna work
