Garage punk band White Reaper has been forced to cancel their upcoming performance at a Memphis music festival after guitarist and lead vocalist Tony Esposito broke his collarbone. The band had been scheduled to perform at the Beale Street Music Festival on Saturday, May 6, but has been forced back out of the lineup amid Esposito’s injury, confirming in a statement to Memphis in May, per Action News 5, “We are bummed to report that Tony broke his collarbone, and we won’t be able to play Beale Street Music Festival as planned. We are so sad to miss you all but will be back soon! Enjoy the fest!”
At this time, White Reaper has not addressed the news on social media, and it remains unclear how Esposito sustained the injury. The band announced back on April 17 that they were joining Blink-182 on their ongoing 2023 tour and are currently set to take the stage at the May 21 show in Boston, their May 23 performance in Washington, DC, their May 24 concert in Brooklyn, their May 26 show in Baltimore, and their May 27 show in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is unclear if those scheduled appearances will be scrapped amid Esposito’s injury.
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The Louisville, Kentucky-based band was first formed by Esposito and Nick Wilkerson while they were in high school in 2012. After recording two demos, DEMO 2012 and WHITE AURA in 2012, with a 7-inch featuring the songs “The Cut” and “Conspirator” released in 2013, Wilkerson’s twin brother Sam Wilkerson joined the band as the bassist, with Esposito’s elementary school friend keyboardist Ryan Hater also joining. The band went on to sign to Polyvinyl Records in early 2014 before releasing their label debut EP. They released their first studio album, White Reaper Does It Again, in 2015, with The World’s Best American Band following in 2017. They signed with Elektra Records in 2019. In January of this year, they announced their fourth studio album, Asking for a Ride, at the time also releasing lead single “Pages.” They also announced they were set to headline a North American tour in early 2023.
The current Beale Street Music Festival lineup features The Lumineers, Greta Van Fleet, Robert Plant + Alison Krauss, Earth Wind & Fire, Hardy, Jazmine Sullivan, The Roots, AJR, 311, GloRilla, Gary Clark Jr, Ziggy Marley, Young the Giant, Halestorm, Live, PJ Morton, The Struts, Gov’t Mule, Dru Hill, mike., Andy Grammer, Yola, Toadies, Lucinda Williams, Living Colour, Finesse2tymes, Big Boogie, Cameo, The Bar-Kays, Colony House, Shovels & Rope, Phony PPL, Low Cut Connie, Marcy Playground, Beach Weather, Los Lobos, Keb Mo, North Mississippi Allstars, and more.
