Patti Smith has posted to Instagram to let the public know she is resting, but well, after what she described herself as a ‘small incident’ at a live show last Wednesday 29th January 2025.
Patti Smith was performing in Teatro Cultura Artistica, São Paulo, Brazil, when she collapsed and left the stage for ten minutes. The rumour mill was quick to start up and prompted the singer to address fans directly in the following days, which she did via an Instagram, citing post-migraine dizziness as a reason for her fall on stage. In poetic stanza format, as is her way, she writes:
"This is
letting everyone know
that I am fine."
The performance in Brazil was one close to the ‘Punk-Priestess’s heart. ‘Correspondences’ is an ongoing work between Berlin-based Soundwalk Collective and Patti Smith that has been active for over a decade. It resulted in the powerful work Burning 1946-2024, a piece using archival footage of fires in the Amazon, set alongside other forests, and accompanied by Patti Smith’s narration. The piece chronicles the dramatic loss of forest from the year Patti was born (1946) to the present day.
In her Instagram statement, she went on to remind people to focus on the issues that matter. “With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention. Thank you everyone for your concern. Trust me I am fine.” The singer has often cited climate change as a key issue in today’s world, crediting the late Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States, for his pioneering efforts on the matter. In an interview with The Times in 2024, she praised the late Carter: “ he was talking about key issues in today's world - climate change, Palestine - decades before they were concerns for other US politicians. Tickets for the São Paulo leg of the Soundwalk show, during which the incident occurred, sold out in under a minute.
Videos circulated on social media depicting Smith triumphantly returning to stage in a wheelchair and singing ‘Because The Night’ and ‘Wing’ to an adoring crowd. Smith later alluded to exaggerated accounts by the media of what happened, declaring she ‘was checked out by an excellent doctor and was absolutely fine’, adding: 'Please do not accept any other story’.
In another Instagram post shared yesterday from her home in Queens, NY, Smith shared some photos of her lush green garden after rain and said that she is “happily resting”. We hope that the artist- hailed by Shirley Manson as ‘hard as nails & soft as a kitten’s belly’- comes back stronger than ever, for whatever adventures lie ahead!
