British indie group killed in crash travelling between American gigs
Tributes have been paid to the “funniest, sweetest, loveliest, most creative lads” from Liverpool indie group Her’s, whose two members were killed in Arizona while travelling to a show in California.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, 24, and Audun Laading, 25, died alongside their tour manager Trevor Engelbrektson early on Wednesday, according to a statement by their record label, Heist Or Hit. They had performed in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday and were driving about 350 miles to Santa Ana in California when the crash happened.
Fitzpatrick and Laading studied music at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) where they met and formed their band before graduating in 2016.
Brits critics’ choice awardwinner Sam Fender tweeted that he was “absolutely devastated”, saying: “Fell in love with their debut album when a good friend back home put them on. I’m truly heartbroken for their friends and family.”
LIPA’S head of music said that the teaching staff were devastated.
Martin Isherwood described the duo as “the funniest, sweetest, loveliest, most creative lads you can ever meet”.