Reformed band At The Drive-In are being tipped to move up the bill and headline the Benicassim festival tonight (July 12th) after original headliners Florence & The Machine were forced to withdraw at the last minute due to an illness being suffered by Florence Welch.
Welch has said a vocal cord injury has left her unable to sing, and as a result will also not be appearing at the Optimus Alive event in Portugal. “I’m so sorry to all the fans, I was desperate to still perform, but was told without question not to, so as not to do permanent damage,” she wrote on Twitter.
After confirming the cancellation, Benicassim organisers unsurprisingly revealed the news had come too late for a new headliner to be secured, meaning At The Drive-In, who were initially set to perform immediately before Florence & The Machine, are the obvious choice to step up.
“Given the sudden and unexpected illness suffered by Miss Welch, FIB 2012 organisation has been unable to find a substitute in such a small time frame,” they said.
This year’s Benicassim will run through to Sunday (July 15th), with the likes of The Stone Roses, Bob Dylan, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and New Order all set to appear over the coming days.