ABC/Heidi GutmanGreen Day found themselves in an awkward situation over the weekend when a performer fell to his death Saturday night just before the band took the stage at Madrid, Spain’s Mad Cool Festival, and the band performed their full set anyway, unaware of the tragedy that had just occurred.
In a lengthy statement posted to their official website, Green Day frontman Billie Jo Armstrong explains they weren’t told about the death until they’d finished their two-and-a-half-hour set.
“Green Day did not hear about the accident until after our show was over,” writes Armstrong. “We didn’t even know there was an acrobat performance at all.”
After the concert, writes Armstrong, they were told that “An acrobat by the name of Pedro was killed during his performance… We are so sad for Pedro and his family and we pray for them in this time of grief. I can’t imagine how much suffering the friends and family are going through.”
Armstrong continues: “All of us were in disbelief. I don’t know why the authorities chose not to tell us about the accident before our concert. All we know is what was said after our concert. This has never happened in the 30 years Green Day have been performing live. If we had known prior to our performance we most likely would not have played at all. We are not heartless people. The safety and well-being at any of our concerts absolutely comes first.”
The concert promoters issued a statement of their own, declaring that after aerial dancer Pedro Aunion Monroy fell to his death, “For security reasons, the festival decided to continue with its programming. We send our most sincere condolences to all his family.”
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