Jam band icon Col. Bruce Hampton died hours after he collapsed on stage during his birthday concert in Atlanta. He was 70 years old.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the musician collapsed on stage while performing the show’s encore of “Turn on Your Lovelight” at the Fox Theatre on Monday night. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he passed away.
Many music legends, including Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, came to honor the legacy during the four-hour show, which was a concert to celebrate his birthday milestone.
Just before 3 a.m., Trucks and Tedeschi posted a statement from Hampton’s family on their Facebook page.
“After collapsing on stage surrounded by his friends, family, fans and the people he loved Col. Bruce Hampton has passed away. The family is asking for respect and privacy at this difficult time,” the family wrote.
Rev. Jeff Mosier, Hampton’s longtime collaborator and member of the Aquarium Rescue Unit, which was a band that Hampton led, took to his Facebook page to post, “He died at Crawford Long Hospital here in Atlanta just a while ago. I feel so blessed to have been there tonight and be a part of the greatest gathering of friends and loved ones. I’ve never seen Bruce happier. I’ve never been sadder. I’ve dreaded this day for years, but could have never imagined a more joyful departure. I feel so lost.”
Hampton was born Gustav Valentine Berglund III on April 30, 1947 in Tennessee and was known as the “grandaddy of the Atlanta jam scene,” according to Billboard.
He started in the improvisational rock scene in the late 1960s with the avant-garde Atlanta outfit Hampton Grease Band. The band opened for legendary acts including the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band and were known for their unusual on-stage antics.
According to Jambase, Hampton led the Aquarium Rescue Unit in the early ’90s, which featured talented musicians Jimmy Herring, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Sipe, Matt Mundy and Count M’Butu. Hampton left the group in 1993 and went on to form Fiji Mariners.
Hampton was also the subject of a documentary, “Basically Frightened: The Musical Madness of Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret.,” which premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in March 2012.
A representative for Hampton has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.