Toots & The Maytals Front Man Hit With Glass Bottle

“TOOTS” HIBBERT HOSPITALIZED AND RELEASED
AFTER INCIDENT AT DOMINION RIVERROCK FEST

It’s always annoying to have to dump your beverage on the way into a concert because bottles aren’t allowed. An incident last night in Richmond, VA showed exactly why we go through that hassle. Just as legendary reggae performers Toots and the Maytals were finishing their set at the Dominion Riverrock festival, a large glass bottle was thrown towards the stage. The bottle hit the group’s front man, Fredrick “Toots” Hibbert, in the head and he dropped his microphone and walked off, ending the set 15 minutes before it was scheduled to conclude.

According to a report from the Richmond Times- Dispatch Hibbert was hospitalized with a “bloody forehead laceration” and was released after receiving treatment. Members of the crowd immediately identified the 20-something accused bottle thrower and according to a festival staffer, the police “kept him behind the stage in custody until the crowd dispersed.”

Thankfully, festival producer Jack Berry had good news about Toots’ state of mind, telling the Times-Dispatch “He was in good spirits despite the traumatic event” and that Hibbert “expressed his regret that the concert had to be curtailed.” Earlier in the set, guitarist Anders Osborne, whose own performance at the festival came right before the reggae legends, sat in with Toots and his band.

The Dominion Riverrock festival concludes today with performances from three local acts. Organizers told the Times-Dispatch that “no security changes were planned for today.”

Video of the scary incident has surfaced. The bottle is thrown at the 4:25 mark: