Mike Shinoda And Sum 41’s Tribute To Chester Bennington Will Give You Chills
"I want you guys to sing it so loud that Chester can hear you."
Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda paid tribute to his late bandmate Chester Bennington while on-stage at Britain’s Reading Festival over the weekend.
Shinoda was midway through his afternoon set at the festival when he paused to speak to the crowd about the impact of Bennington’s sudden death in July last year.
“Getting up here and doing this for me is really fulfilling, and it’s really an accomplishment just to kind of get over my own anxiety about doing it again,” he told the crowd. “I’m really indebted to you guys, for helping me get here.
“If it’s as simple as you just really loved Chester’s singing or the band’s music, or you’re just dealing with your own stuff that has nothing to do with us…then hopefully by coming to these shows and enjoying the music and engaging, it makes some of that bad feeling just go away.”
“I want you guys to sing it so loud that Chester can hear you,” he told the crowd, before playing the opening notes of ‘In The End’. “Are you ready to do that?””
Watch it below.
“I want you guys to sing it so loud Chester can hear you, are you ready to do that?” 😢@MikeShinoda‘s #ReadingFestival tribute to Chester Bennington is too emotional 💔 pic.twitter.com/JO6qdnKb4Q
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) August 25, 2018
Later in the afternoon, Shinoda was brought back on stage with Sum 41 for a thundering rendition of Linkin Park’s 2003 track ‘Faint’. Watch it happen below.