A fan favorite rock band has canceled its performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival after its lead singer suffered a brain injury.
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Phoebe Lunny, frontwoman for the British punk duo Lambrini Girls, fractured her neck and sustained an acute brain injury while in Australia, the band confirmed in an April 8 Instagram post. Lunny shared that she was initially misdiagnosed and treated late, with doctors advising her not to fly or perform for six weeks.
Due to the injury, the band has canceled their two Coachella performances in Indio, California, which were scheduled for April 11 and April 18 in the Mojave tent. Rock star Jack White confirmed on Instagram that he will be filling their 3 p.m. time slot.
“To all American ticket holders: it’s dark times, especially in the states. There are so many good folks who are carving out community and lifting each other up in the face of fascism. Making space for subversion and resistance is at the core of what this band is about,” Lunny explained in the post, which kicked off with a shot of herself wearing a hospital gown while brandishing her exposed buttocks. “Seeing people of all ages, genders and backgrounds come together to mosh, lift each other up, chant, cry, scream in both parts joyful and angry, is my greatest joy.”
Rock Star “Gutted” After Dropping Out of Coachella Due to Brain Injury and Broken Neck
Lunny expressed that the band is “gutted” by the outcome, saying they “want to be there so badly.” She even joked that if the injury were a broken leg, she would pull a “Dave Grohl and play it.” This is a nod to the Foo Fighters frontman who, after falling off stage in 2015, simply sat down and finished a two-hour set. A brain injury, however, is a bit harder to just “walk off.”
“This isn’t something we are taking lightly, and we are really sad. We hope and pray there’s some universe we get to play next year instead,” she added. “Because it is my neck and brain, our hands are tied for now, but I’m lucky and expect a speedy recovery.”
The band, which includes bassist Lilly Macieira, also announced the rescheduling of their North American tour, with new dates planned for late September and early October.
The first weekend of the sold-out festival kicked off on Friday (April 10) with headliners like Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Lizzo set to perform through Sunday (April 12), and again the following weekend.