{"id":2050888,"date":"2026-07-19T06:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T03:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2050888"},"modified":"2026-07-19T06:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T03:42:18","slug":"poppy-says-she-was-unable-to-breathe-amid-wildfire-smoke-at-upheaval-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2050888","title":{"rendered":"Poppy Says She Was \u2018Unable to Breathe\u2019 Amid Wildfire Smoke at Upheaval Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2197282368-e1784442517606.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tPoppy\u2019s Upheaval Festival appearance did not go ahead as planned Friday night (July 17), after wildfire smoke created hazardous air quality conditions at the Grand Rapids, Mich., event.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tPoppy\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tThe singer was scheduled to perform ahead of Gojira at the rock and metal festival, but her band ultimately played without her, delivering an instrumental set while wearing respirator masks beneath their usual stage masks.<\/p>\n

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\"Noah<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Martin<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"BTS\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tBTS’ ‘NORMAL’ Music Video Sets Spotify Single-Day Streaming Record\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tPoppy later addressed her absence on Instagram Stories, explaining that conditions around the time of her performance had become unsafe. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDue to \u2018hazardous\u2019 AQI reaching 350+ around our set time I was unable to join my band on stage,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI was unable to breathe in those conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou might\u2019ve noticed our set was instrumental only,\u201d she continued. \u201cFor those who braved the conditions \u2014 I applaud you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tUnder the U.S. Air Quality Index, readings above 300 are classified as hazardous, the most severe category on the scale. AirNow, the EPA\u2019s air quality resource, describes that range as a \u201chealth warning of emergency conditions,\u201d with everyone more likely to be affected.<\/p>\n

\n\tUpheaval organizers had told attendees before doors opened that the festival would proceed while officials continued monitoring the air quality situation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYour safety is our number one concern,\u201d the festival said in a pre-event weather update, encouraging fans to pace themselves and look out for one another. Organizers also said at the time that available information suggested air quality would improve throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\n\tMichigan was under a statewide air quality alert on Friday and Saturday due to elevated levels of fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke. The West Michigan Clean Air Coalition forecast hazardous conditions in parts of the state and very unhealthy conditions across the Lower Peninsula on Friday.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Upheaval interruption marks the second time this festival season that severe conditions have disrupted one of Poppy\u2019s sets. In May, her performance at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Fla., was cut short less than a minute in after severe weather and lightning protocols were activated.<\/p>\n

\n\tPoppy\u2019s latest live interruption comes amid a strong run on Billboard\u2019s rock charts. \u201cEnd of You,\u201d her collaboration with Evanescence\u2019s Amy Lee and Spiritbox\u2019s Courtney LaPlante, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard\u2019s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart dated Sept. 20, 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe track later made history on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, where Poppy, Lee and LaPlante became the first three women or women-led acts to top the ranking together.<\/p>\n

\n\tPoppy released her seventh studio album, Empty Hands<\/em>, in January via Sumerian Records. The album followed 2024\u2019s Negative Spaces<\/em> and continued her recent run through heavy, industrial and alternative sounds, with production from Jordan Fish and Stephen Harrison.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/rock\/poppy-upheaval-festival-wildfire-1236297450\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2197282368-e1784442517606.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard Poppy\u2019s Upheaval Festival appearance did not go ahead as planned Friday night (July 17), after wildfire smoke created hazardous air quality conditions at the Grand Rapids, Mich., event. Explore Poppy See latest videos, charts and news The singer was scheduled to perform ahead of Gojira at the rock and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2050888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2050888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2050888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2050888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2050888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}