Granger Smith Hospitalized After Stage Fall
Singer Granger Smith has been hospitalized after falling from the stage during a performance Friday night at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey. Smith was standing on a stage monitor when it gave way, toppling him from the stage and into a metal barricade. Smith managed to finish his set, concluding with his hit “Backroad Song.”
A release from Smith’s rep notes that he was taken to an emergency room after the show, then admitted to a Level 1 trauma center for treatment. His injuries include a punctured and partially collapsed lung, as well as two separated and broken ribs.
“I took a pretty hard spill last night in Jersey,” Smith tweeted earlier today. “Thx for the well wishes! Y’all mean the world to me. I’ll be out of the hospital & 100% soon!”
Smith’s remaining dates for this weekend, which include a December 3rd show at City Limits Saloon in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a December 4th gig at Fort Worth’s Billy Bob’s in his home state of Texas, have been canceled. There is no further information about other upcoming shows, which are currently scheduled through mid-December.
Prior to this setback, Smith had been enjoying a breakthrough year that included seeing “Backroad Song” ascend to Number One – his first in 18 years of releasing albums. He also recently wrapped up a run of Canadian dates supporting Florida Georgia Line’s Dig Your Roots Tour. Meanwhile, Smith’s comic alter ego Earl Dibbles Jr. continued to have a visible media presence, returning to the CBS Sports Network’s Inside College Football for a fourth season as part of a weekly segment called “Dip ‘Em and Pick ‘Em.”