Hinder Frontman Austin Winkler Enters Rehab, Saving Abel’s Jared Weeks Fills in on Tour
Rockers Hinder have a jam-packed touring schedule for the next two months so when frontman Austin Winkler requested a temporary leave of absence, the band sprung into action to fill his shoes for their upcoming shows.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Winkler has returned to rehab for a second time and while he takes care of himself, the show must go on for Hinder. The band reached out to ‘America Idol’ season seven winner David Cook to see if he could fill in temporarily. According to Hinder’s manager Kevin “Chief” Zaruk, Cook showed some interest but turned down the offer to work on his own music. The band also reached out to 'American Idol' season 10 rocker James Durbin who also passed on the offer to focus on his next record.
Hinder did finally find their man though -- Saving Abel frontman Jared Weeks has stepped in to save the day. He’ll be handling vocal duties on most of the tour dates with Marshal Dutton, who co-produced Hinder's latest disc, 'Welcome to the Freakshow,' also covering a couple of shows.
The band issued the following statement regarding the situation:
We want to let you know Austin has decided to temporarily leave the tour for personal reasons. Our thoughts and prayers are with him in this time and we know that he will be just fine. HOWEVER, the band has decided, instead of canceling shows and leaving our die-hard fans hanging, we're going to keep the good times rolling on the road this summer. We have some guests filling in to help us out and promise you won't be disappointed! For those of you that have your tickets already, get ready for a great time! For those of you that don't, you won't want to miss out!
Thanks again to our amazing fans for all your support. We can't wait to see you this summer…get ready for the party!
- Cody, Blower, Mark & Mike
Zaruk also offered an update on Winkler's rehab reporting that he checked himself in after feeling like he was slipping a little bit and that so far he's doing well. “We just want him to get healthy and get happy,” he said.
The Hinder tour dates kicked off last night in West Fargo, N.D. and will continue through Aug. 26 in Syracuse, N.Y.
Hinder Tour Dates (with replacement singers listed):
7/11 West Fargo, ND @ Red River Valley Fair w/ Jared weeks
7/12 Morton, MN @ Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel w/ Jared Weeks
7/13 Aberdeen, SD @ 94.1 Rockfest w/ Jared Weeks
7/16 Turlock, CA @ Stanislaus County Fair w/ Jared Weeks
7/18 Waukesha, WI @ Waukesha County Fair w/ Jared Weeks
7/19 Fond Du Lac, WI @ Fond Du Lac County Fair w/ Jared Weeks
7/20 Port Huron, MI @ Blue Water Festival w/ Jared Weeks
8/10 Troy, OH @ Miami County Fair w/ Marshal Dutton
8/11 Covington, KY @ Madison Theater w/ Jared Weeks
8/13 Bloomington, IL @ The Castle Theater w/ Jared Weeks
8/14 TBA
8/15 Wichita, KS @ The Cotillion w/ Jared Weeks
8/17 Sedalia, MO @ Missouri State Fair w/ Jared Weeks
8/18 Fayetteville, AR @ Arkansas Music Pavillion w/ Jared Weeks
8/24 Grand Junction CO @ Rock Jam w/ Marshal Dutton
8/26 Syracuse, NY @ New York State Fair w/ Jared Weeks