5 Seconds of Summer drummer Ashton Irwin suffers heat exhaustion during show
Australian band cancels North American tour dates following medical emergency
Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer has cancelled some tour dates after they had to stop a show in Texas due to a medical emergency.
On Sunday, the pop rock group’s drummer Ashton Irwin suffered from “extreme heat exhaustion” during their Houston concert and had to be taken to the hospital.
“As you may have heard, last night’s show ended early due to a medical incident during the show,” the band posted on their Instagram Story. “Upon experiencing physical symptoms, Ashton was taken to a local hospital for tests and a medical review. As a result, it was advised Ashton had experienced extreme heat exhaustion.”
“Thankfully and most importantly, he is feeling ok and recovering very well. We apologise to all the fans in attendance for the show being cut short,” the band added.
Irwin took to his Twitter to give fans an update and express his disappointment at having to cancel the show.
“It’s always amazing to play a massive energetic show in every environment thrown at us. Unfortunately this time my body gave out due to heat exhaustion. I was in tears in the ambulance, because I feel I’ve let many people down. I’m looking after myself and getting rest now,” he said.
He added: “I suffered from an intense migraine brought on by exhaustion and overheating onstage which made me loose my vision and gave me symptoms of stroke in the left side of my body. So the decision was to end the show there and then.”
Following the show’s cancellation, the band — also comprising Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford and Calum Hood — would move their Arkansas date from June 28 to July 26, which will be the last stop on the North American leg of their Take My Hand World Tour.
“We are so sorry to cause inconvenience to your plans, but we promise for those of you who can still make it, we will put on the show of your lives,” they said.
The group had been due to perform a number of shows in North American cities such as Atlanta, New York City and Toronto until July 24. They’re set to return to Australia to perform seven concerts there starting from November 30.