Papa Roach cancels festival performance following medical emergency involving bassist

Papa Roach has had to pull out of the American Louder Than Life festival after bassist Tobin Esperance suffered an unexpected medical emergency. The band was scheduled to perform on Saturday, September 19 on the Life Stage, closing out the evening from 8:25 PM. Headliner Limp Bizkit was then set to take over on the opposite stage.

The band announced their withdrawal on social media: "After careful consideration and advice from medical professionals, Papa Roach bassist Tobin Esperance will be unable to perform this weekend due to an unexpected emergency. Therefore, we will not be able to perform at this year's Louder Than Life festival, and wish everyone the best. Right now, Tobin's health is our immediate concern. We look forward to welcoming him back on stage in November and appreciate the continued support and respect for his privacy during this time."

Esperance, who is 46 years old and has been part of Papa Roach since 1996, maintains almost no personal presence on social media outside of the band's official channels. His brother Anthony, also known as Twan Esperance, is also part of the live band as a touring guitarist. No further details about the nature of the medical emergency have been released.

The Louder Than Life show would have been the band's last American date before kicking off their European tour on November 1. That tour, called the Rise Of The Roach tour, starts at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow and then moves through cities including Dublin, Birmingham, Manchester, London and Cardiff, before heading to mainland Europe. The tour wraps up on December 6 with a show at the LDLC Arena in Lyon, France.

Dutch and Belgian music fans will want to keep an eye out for any announcements covering mainland Europe, as the band still has several more European dates on the schedule. Worth noting is that just like last year, when Papa Roach paired a sold out London show with a donation of £20,000 to mental health charity CALM, the band will again be contributing to that same cause this year, donating one pound per ticket sold. Frontman Jacoby Shaddix previously told NME how closely that theme is woven into the band's music: "We've been singing about it since the beginning. Our first song, 'Last Resort' was about a cry for help. It's always been part of our story and a part of my life."

Louder Than Life itself had not yet updated the daily schedule on their website or in the festival app at the time of the announcement. The event, which takes place at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville and features more than 200 bands across seven stages this year, had already dealt with a setback on Friday when the festival grounds had to be evacuated for several hours due to an approaching severe thunderstorm. Other headliners this edition include Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance, Tool, Pantera, Megadeth and Gojira.