Florence and The Machine pulled out from Benicassim Festival due vocal illness
Florence and The Machine have been forced to pull out from this weekend's Benicassim festival, due to Florence Welch's vocal injury described as "acute vocal strain causing swelling of the vocal cords". They were scheduled to perform at the Benicassim Festival in Spain on Thursday, July 12 and the Optimus Alive Fest in Portugal on Saturday, July 14.
On Wednesday, July 11, Welch posted a note on the band's website. In it, the British singer explains, "Hello everyone, thank you so much for all your messages of support, yes its true...it finally happened, I've lost my voice. I've sustained a vocal injury and been told I cannot sing for a week.. seriously I felt something snap, it was very frightening," before finally saying, "Unfortunately this means I will not be able to perform at Benicassim and Optimus Alive festival this weekend...I am so so sorry. I'm so sorry to all the fans, I was desperate to still perform, but was told without question not to, so as not to do permanent damage."
At the same time, the organizers also shared a statement concerning their cancel: Given the sudden and unexpected illness suffered by Miss Welch, FIB 2012 organisation has been unable to find a substitute in such a small time frame.
The missing dates will not be re-scheduled as they were part of festivals. It is likely reformed rockers At The Drive-In will now step up to headline the bash ahead of The Horrors, who previously toured with Florence. Other acts on the bill which runs until July 15 include Bob Dylan, The Stone Roses and New Order.
The Grammy-nominated group's next performance is scheduled for July 20 at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby, British Columbia which happens to be the kick-off of their North American tour. The band also recently added an extra show which will be held at the Wells Fargo Theater in Denver on July 26. The additional show was booked after their July 25 show at the Red Rocks Amphitheater was sold out.
Florence and The Machine are also expected to go to the top of the UK charts this weekend with "Spectrum", the fourth single to be released from their hugely successful album, Ceremonials.
"Spectrum" music video:
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