(antiMusic) Relient K's bus caught on fire Thursday morning while the band was on their way to a show in Illinois. The bus fire broke out at about 3:20am while traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after performing Wednesday night at the Cornerstone music festival in Mount Union, Pa.. Most of the band members were awoken when the bus driver yelled for them to get off the burning bus. Frontman Matt Thiessen first spotted the flames and alerted the driver. No one was injured but there was extensive damage to the bus and the group lost personal property as well as instruments, sound equipment and merch. Thiessen told the local press that he lost a laptop computer that contained approximately 100 unfinished songs.
A fire department official said that the blaze started in the engine compartment which sits at the rear of the bus and just below the lounge area. The bus driver had apparently been experiencing difficulty with the engine and they had just climbed a steep mountain when the fire broke out.
At press time it looks like the band apparently plan to march on and continue their tour. Friday's show was cancelled but they reportedly performed as planned on Saturday night. Their next scheduled appearance is on July 14th in Wilmar, MN, according to their official website, which as of 2:30 PST on Sunday had no mention of the fire.
