While the Federal Aviation Administration's national ground stop left traveling Americans frustrated and concerned, some got an upgrade on in-flight entertainment.
Several bands, including Hoobastank and Simple Plan, treated in-flight passengers and aircrew to impromptu live performances later shared on social media. Both bands were among those headed to Orlando for slated shows at the Vans Warped Tour before the FAA halted flights across the country, stranding travelers soon after 3:36 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 13.
The rock festival posted a clip to its Instagram stories showing Hoobastank performing '00s hits like "The Reason" and "Crawling in the Dark." In the video, frontman Doug Robb sings while walking across the Southwest aircraft aisle as passengers
record on their phones.
Other footage captured Simple Plan vocalist Pierre Bouvier delivering an acoustic rendition of "Perfect" and "I'm Just a Kid." Meanwhile, singer LØLØ sang her 2024 song "hot girls in hell," and The Used performed their 2002 hit "The Taste of Ink."
LØLØ explained in an Instagram Reel on Saturday, Nov. 14, that she was on board a special chartered plane for people going to the Vans Warped Tour. She wrote that the performances were played on the aircraft PA system so everyone onboard could enjoy them.
"Those with Wi-Fi found out about the ground stop while we were at [35,000 feet], and we were all pretty freaked out, but how can you really be freaked out when Pierre sounds this good?" she wrote of the Simple Plan rocker's performance.
Is Vans Warped Tour still happening after ground stop?
Vans Warped Tour Orlando is still running at the Camping World Stadium Campus in Orlando this weekend from Nov. 14-15.
In an update shared Saturday about the FAA ground stop, Warped Tour founder and producer Kevin Lyman said a few bands have canceled because of the halted travel, but others have gone above and beyond to make it.
"We will be updating you on that," he said in an Instagram Reel shared on the official Vans Warped page. "Not as many as we thought because the bands are working hard to change their flights. Some bands have jumped in vans and [are] driving from as far away as Chicago and Houston."
He said some bands initially slated to perform on Saturday will play on Sunday instead, adding, "We’ve extended the sets out and [are] giving bands more time to play. Bear with us. We’re all working hard."
The music festival, also held in Washington, D.C., and Long Beach, California, features more than 100 artists spanning rock, pop punk, alternative, emo, hip-hop and more.
The bands headed to the Florida festival weren't the only musicians affected by the FAA ground stop.
The ground stop also hindered country star Tim McGraw from playing his Nov. 13 Hondo Rodeo Fest show in Phoenix, prompting the festival to extend Miranda Lambert's performance.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Simple Plan, Hoobastank, more bands perform midair amid FAA ground stop
