Pointfest Is Canceled in Wake of Chris Cornell's Death

The second date of this year's Pointfest, scheduled to be held this Saturday at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, has been canceled due to the sudden overnight death of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. Soundgarden had been scheduled to headline the event.

"It is with deep regret, due to the sudden passing of Chris Cornell of Soundgarden overnight, Pointfest on Saturday is canceled," Live Nation announced in a statement. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the members of Soundgarden, their crew, management, and the Cornell family."

Cornell, an important figure in the '90s grunge scene whose work includes Soundgarden and Audioslave, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday night, sometime after performing at Detroit's Fox Theatre.

From the New York Times:

Dontae Freeman, a spokesman for the Detroit Police Department, said in an interview that officers responded around midnight at the MGM Grand casino to an apparent suicide of a white man, born July 20, 1964, who was pronounced dead on the scene. He would not confirm the victim’s name; Mr. Cornell’s date of birth is July 20, 1964.

Mr. Freeman said that the victim’s wife had called a family friend to check on the man; the family friend forced his way into the man’s room at the casino and found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor.

The victim was found with a band around his neck, Mr. Freeman said. The police would not confirm that the victim died of a suicide, though the preliminary determination was an “apparent suicide,” Mr. Freeman said. He added that more details would be released in a statement later Thursday.

Brian Bumberry, a representative for Cornell, described the death to the Associated Press as "sudden and unexpected," vowing that Cornell's family will be “working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause.”

In addition to Soundgarden, other acts that were set to perform at Pointfest on Saturday included Stone Sour, Pierce the Veil, Greek Fire, J. Roddy Walston & the Business, Biffy Clyro, Dillinger Escape Plan, the Hush List and Monster Eats Manhattan. This year's Pointfest has been a turbulent one, with last week's headliner, Korn, cancelling at the last minute as singer Jonathon Davis was instructed by a doctor to go on "mandatory vocal rest."

Tickets purchased online through Live Nation or Ticketmaster will be refunded automatically. Those purchased at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre must be returned to the box office for a refund.

Watch video from Chris Cornell's final performance last night below: