The Offspring Escape Burning SUV on Tour

Members of The Offspring escaped unharmed after one of their tour vehicles caught fire on Aug. 6, while the band was en route to Rimouski, Quebec, Canada for a concert.

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“While traveling through Canada yesterday, something flew off the vehicle in front of us and became wedged underneath one of our SUVs and it caught fire,” shared the band in a social media post. “Everyone got out safely, but the luggage, passports, laptops, and pretty much everything else was destroyed.”

The band added, “We are happy to report that everyone is doing ok and we’ve made it safely to Rimouski and will be performing tonight at Les Grandes Fetes TELUS. Hope to see everyone there.”

Offspring guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman also shared a clip of the burning SUV and wrote: “No one was hurt. Everyone got out of the vehicle unscathed. Unfortunately about half our crew lost all their belongings in the fire, including luggage, computers, and passports. But it could’ve been much worse. The band and I are so thankful and relieved that all involved are OK.”

Wasserman added, “No one is sure what started the fire yet, but the SUV hit something big and heavy, possibly a lost trailer hitch, and within seconds the vehicle was in flames. You can see from the video that they didn’t even get off the Highway before everyone had to bail. No time to save any belongings. Scary shit.”

The band is currently on their North American tour in support of its 10th album, Let The Bad Times Roll, which will wrap up at Vancouver’s Ambleside festival on Aug. 13, before the band heads to Japan for the Summer Sonic fest and Rock In Rio in Australia in December, and on through Europe in May 2023.

“Our crew do all the heavy lifting so that we look and sound as good as possible when we take the stage,” said Wasserman. “They’re travel and workdays are always longer and more arduous than ours, and we can’t thank them enough for all they do. To see them have to go through something like this is heartbreaking and frightening. I am so glad they are all OK.”

Read the 2021 American Songwriter interview with The Offspring’s frontman Dexter Holland here.

Photo: Daveed Benito / Full Coverage PR