Sugarland is planning on holding a memorial service for the five people killed the terrifying Indiana State Fair stage collapse on Saturday. The band was waiting in the wings in a prayer circle when the stage was torn down by high winds, killing five people and injuring 40 others.
If Sugarland members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush had gone on stage only a few minutes earlier, they too may have been among the causalities in the Indiana State Fair stage collapse. The band was headed out to the stage when stage manager Hellen Rollens called them into a quick prayer circle, very possibly saving their lives.
The horrific Indiana Stage Fair stage collapse video below shows how close the band came to being killed or seriously injured.
Now the band wants to honor those who were killed and injured while waiting to see them perform.
“We are in the process of planning a private memorial in Indiana, to honor those fans who died,” the band said in a statement Tuesday. “We would first like to hold space so that their families can have time to go through their own services and memorials.”
“Until that time we are holding vigil for them,” the statement continues. “We join them on their mourning benches.”
“We have taken a couple of days to try and even begin to emotionally process the magnitude and gravity of the tragedy in Indiana on Saturday,” the statement reads, adding, “We are also addressing our own specific healing.”
Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush plan to resume the band’s touring schedule on Thursday in Albuquerque, NM.