Sports Team robbed at gunpoint during US tour
Sports Team have revealed they were victims of an armed robbery in California shortly after arriving in the US for their current tour on December 3rd.
The Mercury Prize-nominated six-piece had stopped in the city of Vallejo at 9 am local time on December 3rd when members of staff at the service station alerted them that the assailants were breaking into their van.
The band, who have only just embarked on a string of dates on the West Coast of the United States, posted a video clip of the incident to their official Instagram account. In the clip, the burglars can be seen breaking into the band’s tour van while screams are heard, alerting patrons of the coffee shop the band were in at the time to remain inside due to the presence of firearms at the scene.
The caption accompanying the video reads: “Just been robbed at gun point 10 minutes into the US tour. Stopped for coffee. Man runs in saying some guys are smashing into a van. Ran out to try to stop it and find masked guys ransacking the van. Start yelling and they pull out a gun. Police response was ‘submit an online report.’ Lost a lot of personal gear, but they didn’t get the instruments so driving on to Sacramento to play tonight.”
While the incident may have been harrowing to experience, the band have remained positive in their outlook on the situation, adding: “They can take our Nintendo Switches but they can never take our ability to play rock songs about motorways. In all seriousness pretty shocking how resigned everyone seemed to be to it. ‘It happens’. 9am at some petrol station Starbucks. Wild.”
The band have reported that the robbers managed to get away with many personal items, passports, laptops and other valuables, but their instruments and musical gear were left behind untouched, and that everyone is safe following the incident.
Their show in Sacramento later the same day went ahead as scheduled, and Sports Team will continue with the five remaining dates of their tour in support of their forthcoming album, Boys These Days, which is set for release on February 28th.
Their forthcoming album will be their third studio effort, following their 2020 debut Deep Down Happy, and the 2022 follow-up, Gulp!, which were both released by Island and achieved top 10 success in the UK.
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