Blues Traveler frontman John Popper. Photo Credit: Rafael Rezende
Yesterday, five-piece rock band Blues Traveler survived a tour-bus accident in Minnesota before receiving medical treatment at a local hospital and promptly returning to the road in order to play a concert this evening.
Blues Traveler’s team reached out to Digital Music News with word of the single-vehicle accident, which left the band and crew members “trapped inside the bus before law enforcement and first responders freed them from the vehicle.” Despite the need for assistance from first responders, only three of 11 tour-bus passengers were injured, and as mentioned, these individuals received treatment for their “minor injuries” at a nearby hospital.
Understandably “shaken” by the incident, Princeton-based Blues Traveler, which is touring in support of the recently released Traveler’s Blues, nevertheless continued towards Rochester, Minnesota’s Mayo Civic Center Park (about an hour’s drive from Winona, where the accident occurred). And notwithstanding the unsettling setback, the ultra-dedicated act remains set to play “as scheduled” this evening, with Jacksonville-based JJ Grey & Mofro co-headlining the gig.
“This morning our tour bus went off the road and crossed the median. Thankfully we are all safe and have only sustained minor injuries,” Blues Traveler said of the accident. “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.”
Regional outlets have specified that the accident occurred at about 6:30 AM local time, and that the bus’s driver “lost control” of the vehicle. Given the rigorous physical demands of touring (and particularly traveling to venues on a tight schedule), it’s possible that a lack of sleep could have played a part in the occurrence.
However, neither law enforcement nor the band seems to have publicly addressed the possibility. As it stands, Blues Traveler is slated to play Missouri’s Chesterfield Amphitheater (once again with JJ Grey & Mofro) on Sunday, according to the band’s website as well as that of the venue.
The establishment is a nearly seven-hour drive from the Mayo Civic Center Park, per Google Maps, and Blues Traveler has booked shows into October, including stops in Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and more. The band and crew will have five days after Sunday evening’s gig to make the almost 400-mile journey to the next venue (in Indiana), and it appears that several of the tour’s subsequent drives, while slightly shorter, still span hundreds of miles apiece.