Members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage for a sold-out show Saturday night, but the band didn’t play a single note.
Standing beside his bandmates, bass player Flea announced the show in Irvine, California, wouldn’t go on.
Singer Anthony Kiedis, 53, was heading to the hospital, Flea told the crowd.
“We are devastated about it,” the bass player said. “We live to rock … but unfortunately there’s a medical thing that happened and he needed to deal with it.”
The news quickly spread on social media as concertgoers at the show shared videos of the last-minute announcement.
Later Saturday night, drummer Chad Smith tweeted, “NO one’s more disappointed than us that we couldn’t perform tonight. Sending love and a speedy recovery to my brother Anthony.”
The band didn’t give any indication of Kiedis’ condition or whether any upcoming shows will be canceled. Their publicist told CNN Sunday that he had nothing to add beyond Flea’s comments from the stage Saturday night.
“We’re unable to play tonight,” Flea told the crowd in Irvine. “We will be playing for you very soon, and we will be playing for you like the feral animals full of love that we are. And we are so sorry.”
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were among more than a dozen bands who’d been scheduled to perform Saturday at an annual concert put on by KROQ, one of Los Angeles’ most popular radio stations.
The station tweeted shortly after the band’s set time that they wouldn’t be performing “due to illness.”
Their next scheduled concert is May 17 in Burbank, California, according to the band’s website.
Formed in the 1980s, the Red Hot Chili Peppers pioneered a bold style of rock infused with funk and rap. The enduring group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.