Fountains Of Wayne have announced their first shows since bassist and songwriter Adam Schlesinger’s death in 2020.
Founding member Schlesinger died at the age of 52 from complications of coronavirus after he was placed on a ventilator to fight the virus.
Formed in New York City in 1995, Fountains of Wine – now made up of Chris Collingwood, Jody Porter, and Brian Young – became known for hits including Stacey’s Mom in 2003, as well as Sink to the Bottom, Radiation Vibe and Denise.
Now five years after Schlesinger’s death, the band have announced they are reuniting to play at Milwaukee’s Summerfest on July 4 and Ocean City’s Oceans Calling on September 26, with Eve 6’s Max Collins filling in for the late bandmate on bass.
These dates mark the band’s first reunion in 12 years, save one online performance in 2020 for a pandemic relief concert in tribute to Schlesinger, for which Sharon Van Etten played bass.
On the news of Schlesinger’s death, music and Hollywood stars including Tom Hanks and Rachel Bloom paid tribute, as the singer clocked up a huge range of songwriting credits on films and TV shows over an impressive career.
His credits include 150 songs for comedy series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – for which he won an Emmy – and he was also the composer for Hugh Grant’s 2007 film Music and Lyrics.
Schlesinger was also nominated for an Oscar in 1997 for his work on the musical movie That Thing You Do!, and he won a Grammy in 2010 for best comedy album based on a TV special for his work on A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!
Announcing his death on April 2, 2020, the singer’s lawyer Josh Grier said in a statement to CNN: ‘As many of you are aware, Adam had been hospitalised with Covid-19 and although he had been making some small improvements over the last few days, Adam’s condition was critical and he was ultimately unable to recover from Covid-19 complications.
‘He was truly a prolific talent and even more so, a loving and devoted father, son and friend. We are terribly sorry to convey this loss.’
Grier had earlier said that he was ‘very sick’ and was being treated in a New York hospital, telling Variety: ‘He is very sick and is heavily sedated, as are all people on ventilators, but no one has used the word “coma” to me.’
He also explained that Adam had been in hospital for over a week and was receiving ‘excellent medical care’.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
