Incredibly sad news is coming out of California today, as news reports indicate a man committed suicide by jumping headfirst off a roof and landing on stage at a Swell Season show last night.
The New York Times reports the man was at the show with a friend. He left his friend and personal belongings behind and then reportedly climbed onto the roof of the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Calif. at around 10 p.m. local time and jumped off.
A witness told the San Francisco Weekly that the man stumbled "more than once," but kept getting back up, "determined to follow through."
"Glen was just finishing a little song that one of his band members had made up," another witness told the newspaper. "The crowd was singing along with him and he was looking for the band member as we finished singing along.
"I just happened to look up and I saw this guy falling from the top of the roof on the right side of the building behind the stage. He landed about 3 feet to the left of Glen on a speaker and he was motionless, like a rag doll. It was about 10pm.
"At first there was a moment where everyone was like, what is going on and then people started to scramble for help."
The San Diego Mercury News reports Hansard immediately put his guitar down and went over to the body to help the man while doctors and others on stage performed CPR on the man. The crowd realized the man had died after his body was not moved from the scene, according to Billboard. Another witness told the San Francisco Weekly that the audience was "cooperative" in leaving the venue.
The Swell Season have since issued a statement about the man's death.
"The band, crew and all involved with them are shocked and saddened by the events of last night," they said. "Their hearts go out to the victim and his friends and family."
The New York Times reports the man's death is currently being investigated as a suicide and an autopsy will be performed on the body. The man's name is unlikely to be released.
It's not known if any Swell Season dates will be affected by last night's events. At the moment, all of their dates are still on.
You can see The Swell Season here:
Aug. 20 Portland, OR @ Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre
Aug. 21 Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Park (No Depression Festival)
Aug. 22 Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl
Aug. 27 Sao Paulo, Brazil @ HSBC Brasil
Aug. 28 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil @ Vivo Rio
Oct. 13 Paris, France @ La Cigalle
Oct. 14 Marseille, France @ Espace Julien
Oct. 15 Barcelona, Spain @ L'Auditori
Oct. 16 Zaragoza, Spain @ Oasis
Oct. 18 Madrid, Spain @ Teatro Hagen Dazs Calderon
Oct. 19 San Sebastian, Spain @ Teatro Victoria
Oct. 20 Lisbon, Portugal @ Santiago Alquimista
Oct. 22 Bratislava, Slovakia @ Arena Theatre
Oct. 23 Wroclaw, Poland @ Sala Radio Wroclaw
Oct. 24 Warsaw, Poland @ Palladium
Oct. 26 London, England @ Royal Festival Hall
Oct. 28 Reykjavik, Iceland @ Nasa
- The Swell Season — Strict Joy
- The Swell Season — “Low Rising”
- Swell Season Talk Sex, Success, Staying Grounded
- Swell Season Returning With Strict Joy
- Pumping: Bring Me The Horizon — Suicide Season
