Blues Traveler Are ‘Banged Up’ After Tour Bus Accident in Minnesota
Blues Traveler were involved in a tour bus accident in Minnesota early Thursday morning (Aug. 19) while en route to their Rochester show slated for Friday.
The band and crew members sustained minor injuries but are safe after being treated at a local hospital. After the tour bus went off the road, the members were stuck inside the bus until law enforcement and first responders freed them.
“This morning our tour bus went off the road and crossed the median. Thankfully we are all safe and have only sustained minor injuries,” the band said in a statement. “Our sincere gratitude to the Winona MN, Police Department and rescue crew for their help getting us safely off the highway and out of oncoming traffic.”
Frontman John Popper shared updates on the scene of the crash on his personal Facebook page. “Bus just crashed!! Dunno what’s going on everything hurts…i think we’re stuck on the bus we’re all going to get checked but we’re still tryijg to get f—ing door open…more later,” he wrote before adding several messages underneath in a thread.
Hours after sending a separate “all looking good” Facebook update from the emergency room, Popper wrote a lengthier note on his wall about how “banged up” Blues Traveler currently is as a result of the “scary” bus accident. From the looks of Popper’s latest post, it remains unclear whether Friday’s show, which is scheduled to be held at Mayo Civic Park in Rochester, Minn., alongside co-headliners JJ Grey & MOFRO, will go on.
“Hi…I am largely fine just beat to sh–…I love U all so much for this outpouring of love&prayers…several of us are banged up&our monitor engineer Mateo broke his shoulder…I am finally cleared from any internal bleeding or stuff like that…We are hoping that we can do the show2moro,” he said. “But I still am covered in shattered glass&as I never sleep on buses anyway have not been to bed yet…Everything hurts right now&my vast experience in auto accidents tells me it’s gonna hurt worse2moro&the day after too…So let’s see how I do w/some sleep…. We are all very grateful to be alive&I really need a nap right now…I am so sorry for scaring U all,but it WAS scary…Will check back in when I wake up Thank U all SO SO much….”
The New Jersey-based blues rock troupe are currently on tour in support of their latest album Traveler’s Blues, which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Blues Albums chart in the week ending Aug. 14.