Hazardous air quality from wildfire smoke forced Poppy off the stage at the Upheaval Festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Friday, July 17. Her band played without her, delivering an instrumental set while wearing respirator masks beneath their usual stage masks.
Poppy was scheduled to perform ahead of Gojira at the rock and metal festival. After the show, she addressed her absence on Instagram Stories, explaining what had happened.
"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."
She added: "You might've noticed our set was instrumental only. For those who braved the conditions — I applaud you."
Under the U.S. Air Quality Index, readings above 300 fall into the hazardous category, the most severe level on the scale. According to AirNow, the EPA's air quality resource, that range represents 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 situation. According to Billboard, the festival released a pre-event weather update stating: "Your safety is our number one concern," while also encouraging fans to pace themselves and look out for one another. Organizers said at the time that available information suggested air quality would improve throughout the day.
Michigan was under a statewide air quality alert on both 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 disruption was not an isolated incident. In May, Poppy's performance at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida was cut short less than a minute in after severe weather and lightning protocols were activated. Friday's show marks the second time this festival season that conditions have cut into one of her sets.
The interruptions come during a strong stretch for Poppy on the charts. Her collaboration with Evanescence's Amy Lee and Spiritbox's Courtney LaPlante, titled "End of You," debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs chart dated September 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 through Sumerian Records. The album followed 2024's Negative Spaces and continued her run through heavy, industrial and alternative sounds, with production from Jordan Fish and Stephen Harrison.
