Hoobastank, Simple Plan Turn Southwest Flight Into Mid-Air Concert Amid FAA Ground Stop

Hoobastank, Simple Plan, The Used and LØLØ found a way to keep passengers entertained while flying during one of the most chaotic travel days in recent memory.The musicians, who were traveling to Orlando for the latest Vans Warped Tour stop, turned their Southwest flight into an impromptu concert Friday performing for fellow passengers after narrowly avoiding a nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop. The unexpected performances came as the FAA’s four-hour ground stop disrupted air travel across the country, leaving thousands of travelers stranded and more than 12,500 flights grounded. The artists made the most of their time in the air, turning it into a millennial dream concert with several musicians taking turns performing some of their best-known songs in the cabin. Hoobastank frontman Doug Robb delivered performances of the band’s 2004 hit “The Reason” and 2001 track “Crawling in the Dark,” even walking down the plane’s center aisle as he sang. Simple Plan’s Pierre Bouvier also took the opportunity to perform acoustic versions of “Perfect” and “I’m Just a Kid.” The Used joined in with “The Taste of Ink,” while LØLØ performed her song “hot girls in hell.” LØLØ offered a behind-the-scenes look at the unusual flight Saturday, explaining that the plane was a special charter carrying exclusively people headed to Warped Tour. “Those with wifi found out about the ground stop while we were at 35k feet and we were all pretty freaked out but how can you really be freaked out when Pierre sounds this good?” she wrote alongside an Instagram Reel featuring Bouvier’s performance. She also showed how the musicians made sure everyone on board could hear the music, revealing that someone held a flight attendant’s announcement phone up to an amplifier so the performances could be broadcast throughout the cabin. The impromptu concert came just ahead of the Vans Warped Tour’s two-day Orlando stop, scheduled for Nov. 14-15. The nationwide FAA ground stop had raised concerns about whether some of the scheduled performers would make it to the festival in time.Warped Tour founder and producer Kevin Lyman addressed the travel disruptions in an Instagram video, saying he’s never dealt with anything like this in 40-plus years in the music industry and that organizers were working to accommodate artists whose flights had been affected. Some performers were even making the trip by road, with bands driving from as far away as Chicago and Houston. Lyman also said the festival would adjust its schedule, moving some Friday performers to Sunday and extending sets to make room for the changes.The impromptu set gave passengers an unexpected Warped Tour preview, turning a stressful travel day into a once-in-a-lifetime concert at 35,000 feet.