Portugal. The Man Bus Catches Fire: No One Hurt, Band ‘Lit’ After Awards Wins

Portugal. The Man, fresh off of a big win at the Pollstar Awards Feb. 8, saw its bus catch fire before a show at the Iowa Memorial Union Feb. 13, but no one was hurt and it didn’t affect the sold-out show.   

<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BfKSOdZhuj1/” data-instgrm-version=”8″ style=” background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px); width:calc(100% – 2px);”><div style=”padding:8px;”> <div style=” background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.5% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;”> <div style=” background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;”></div></div> <p style=” margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BfKSOdZhuj1/” style=” color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;” target=”_blank”>Bus Fire x @louthegenius loves emojis – #Repost @louthegenius ・・・ ‍♂️⛄️ ‍♀️ </a></p> <p style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;”>A post shared by <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/portugaltheman/” style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;” target=”_blank”> TheLordsOfPortland</a> (@portugaltheman) on <time style=” font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;” datetime=”2018-02-14T02:41:46+00:00″>Feb 13, 2018 at 6:41pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src=”//www.instagram.com/embed.js”></script>

“Everyone is safe on the band and crew and the sold out show came off without a hiccup,” manager Rich Holtzman of Red Light Management told Pollstar.  He said there’s been “lots of humor about the band being so hot right now that everything is lit.  

“Or maybe it was them saying ‘Hail Satan’ in their acceptance speeches,” Holtzman added.  “Fire and brimstone.”

PTM just won a Grammy for “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” for the smash hit “Feel It Still,“ where they ended a heartfelt speech with the aforementioned salute to the lord of the underworld.

Holtzman continued that at the Pollstar Awards, where the band was crowned Best New Touring Artist: “The band would be pissed off if I didn’t say, ‘Go Trailblazers and Hail Satan.’”

As for the fire, “We had to rent a truck, catch a plane and a new bus should show up today,” Holtzman added.

Police said no one was on the bus when the fire broke out.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Our crews were able to knock the fire down quickly. <a href=”https://t.co/ogEdtXZLL2″>https://t.co/ogEdtXZLL2</a></p>&mdash; ICFD (@IowaCityFire) <a href=”https://twitter.com/IowaCityFire/status/963574598620123137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>February 14, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The band has a show tonight at The Blue Note in Columbia, Mo., and is booked pretty solidly into October, including an appearance at Coachella, a lengthy European run and ending with a date at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.