INDIANAPOLIS – A packed house watched country duo Sugarland deliver an emotionally charged free concert meant to “celebrate” healing, life and music while serving as a tribute to the victims of a deadly stage collapse last August at the Indiana State Fair.
Singer Jennifer Nettles told Friday night’s crowd — including some of those injured during the collapse — that the tragedy had changed them all.
Additional Photos
Nettles opened the 2 1/2-hour show at a packed Conesco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis by telling audience members they were in store for an emotional night that would also be part celebration. She also told fans that Sugarland had visited the fairgrounds, where high winds toppled scaffolding and stage rigging Aug. 13 into a crowd awaiting a performance by the country duo. Seven people were killed.
“Obviously, we are here in October — we were supposed to do this show in August. Obviously, the stage is different, you are different and we are different. We are all changed by what happened then,” she said. “But we are going to try to give you the best show that we can and to celebrate healing with you and to celebrate life and music with you here tonight.”
Sugarland’s free concert came 10 weeks after the stage collapsed as a storm neared the fairgrounds’ Grandstand a few miles north of Friday night’s venue. Attendees were asked to donate to a victim relief fund that already has raised nearly $1 million.
Indianapolis resident Sue Humphrey, whose 17-year-old son, Brad, was left partially paralyzed when he was struck by falling stage rigging that night, attended Friday’s concert with her son, who decided only Friday afternoon that he wanted to go.
Humphrey said Brad was unsure if the concert would be too emotional for him, but she said it was herself, and not her son, who got choked up at one point during the show as her mind cast back to August’s tragedy.
She said Brad, a high school senior who attended the concert after finishing his first week back at school since he was injured, held up fine. Humphrey and her son, who is now in a wheelchair, sat in the venue’s handicapped section.
Humphrey said she was touched when Nettles held up a flag near the end of the concert with the word “Heal” painted on it and then walked through the audience holding it aloft.
“She usually has ‘Love’ on that flag, but this time she spray-painted ‘Heal’ on it and I thought that was a very, very good touch to the show,” she said.
Lohan’s father denied bail after attempt to elude Florida police
TAMPA, Fla. – The estranged father of actress Lindsay Lohan has been denied bail in Florida.
Hillsborough County jail records show that Michael Lohan was being held Saturday without bond on four charges.
The 51-year-old Lohan was arrested on domestic violence charges Tuesday. His bail was set at $5,000, and a judge warned him not to make any contact with Kate Major, 28, his on-and-off girlfriend.
Two days later, Lohan was accused of violating the terms of his release by making a harassing telephone call to Major.
Police went to arrest him, and he tried to avoid them by jumping off a third-floor balcony at a Tampa hotel. He was injured and had to be taken to the hospital.
Lohan was released from the hospital Friday and put back in jail.
McCartney offers restoration
DETROIT – During a summer visit to a Motown recording studio, former Beatle Paul McCartney wanted to run his fingers along an 1877 Steinway grand piano played by some Detroit music greats he considers idols.
“He was disappointed when we told him it didn’t play,” Motown Historical Museum chief executive Audley Smith Jr. told The Detroit News for a story Saturday.
Undaunted, the legendary rock and roller from England told museum officials following a July concert at Comerica Park that he wanted to help restore it.
On Monday, the piano will be picked up from the Detroit museum and shipped to Steinway & Sons in New York for restoration. The work is expected to take up to five months.
The piano company has to assess the piano’s condition before a cost can be determined.
Bus driver dies, show goes on
DES MOINES, Iowa – Rock band Widespread Panic says its bus driver suffered a fatal heart attack en route to a gig in Iowa.
According to a statement on the Athens, Ga.-based group’s website, Tom Torrisi fell ill Thursday morning as the charter bus was traveling on Interstate 35 south of Ames. The bus went off the highway, and the band’s merchandise manager took the wheel.
Widespread Panic performed Thursday night in Ames as scheduled.
Jessica Lown of the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation told the Ames Tribune that she couldn’t confirm details of the bus incident.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.