Patti Smith Says She's 'Absolutely Fine' After Collapsing Onstage in Brazil amid 'Post-Migraine Dizziness'

Mar. 15, 2025

Patti Smith preforms onstage during The Gordon Parks Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner And Auction Celebrating The Arts & Social Justice at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 21, 2024 in New York City.Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Patti Smithis assuring fans that she is “absolutely fine” after a “small incident” onstage while performing in Brazil.

The rocker, 78, seemingly collapsed onstage in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, Jan. 29 while performing with the Soundwalk Collective group, and was helped offstage before returning briefly in a wheelchair.

In a statement shared to Instagram the next day, Smith said she’d been dealing with the effects of a migraine, and that various accounts of what happened had been “grossly exaggerated.”

“This is [me] letting everyone know that I am fine,” she wrote alongside a selfie that featured her smiling for and waving to the camera. “I had some post migraine dizziness. Had a small incident, left the stage, and returned 10 minutes later and talked to the people, told them I was fine and sang them Wing and Because the Night.”

“Please do not accept any other story. With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention,” she wrote. “Thank you everyone for your concern. Trust me I am fine.”

Videoshared to social mediashows theJust Kidsauthor returning to stage in a wheelchair and apologizing to the crowd.

Patti Smith performs on stage during Noches del Botanico music festival on June 20, 2022 in Madrid, Spain.Mariano Regidor/Redferns/Getty

Mariano Regidor/Redferns/Getty

“You’ve been so patient and unfortunately I got sick and the doctor said I can’t finish so we will have to figure something,” she said. “I feel very badly.”

Another videoshows Smith performing“Because the Night” a cappella, with the audience singing along.

The Berlin-based Soundwalk Collective is collaborating with Smith on the “Correspondences” project, during which she recites her writings alongside musicians. According to Instagram, the project is set to run from Jan. 16 to Feb. 22.

In an Instagram Stories post, Soundwalk Collective said Smith had been suffering from an “intense migraine” for “the past couple days, and had some dizziness on stage, but she still wanted to be there for all of us and you and perform today.”

source: people.com