Poppy Says She Was ‘Unable to Breathe’ Amid Wildfire Smoke at Upheaval Festival

Poppy’s 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.

The 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.

Poppy later addressed her absence on Instagram Stories, explaining that conditions around the time of her performance had become unsafe.

“Due to ‘hazardous’ AQI reaching 350+ around our set time I was unable to join my band on stage,” she wrote. “I was unable to breathe in those conditions.”

“You might’ve noticed our set was instrumental only,” she continued. “For those who braved the conditions — I applaud you.”

Under the U.S. Air Quality Index, readings above 300 are classified as hazardous, the most severe category on the scale. AirNow, the EPA’s air quality resource, describes that range as a “health warning of emergency conditions,” with everyone more likely to be affected.

Upheaval organizers had told attendees before doors opened that the festival would proceed while officials continued monitoring the air quality situation.

“Your safety is our number one concern,” 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.

Michigan 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.

The Upheaval interruption marks the second time this festival season that severe conditions have disrupted one of Poppy’s 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.

Poppy’s latest live interruption comes amid a strong run on Billboard’s rock charts. “End of You,” her collaboration with Evanescence’s Amy Lee and Spiritbox’s Courtney LaPlante, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart dated Sept. 20, 2025.

The 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.

Poppy released her seventh studio album, Empty Hands, in January via Sumerian Records. The album followed 2024’s Negative Spaces and continued her recent run through heavy, industrial and alternative sounds, with production from Jordan Fish and Stephen Harrison.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.