LINKIN PARK SETS UP CHESTER BENNINGTONS TRIBUTE SITE, #RIPCHESTER

On Saturday, Linkin Park set up a tribute site for singer Chester Bennington, who committed suicide on Thursday. The site — which seemed to be having connectivity issues in its first few hours, possibly due to heavy traffic — is fairly simple. It features a photo of Bennington onstage, surrounded by the light from thousands of fans’ phones, with the hashtag #RIPCHESTER and the following message:

In case you or someone you know needs support, here are some resources:
Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK
Crisis Text Line, the free, nationwide, 24/7 text message service for people in crisis, is here to support. For support in the United States, text HELLO to 741741 or message at facebook.com/CrisisTextLine.
For support outside the US, find resources at http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html

The site also features an area for fans to post messages, which was filling rapidly at press time.

On Friday afternoon, the Los Angeles County coroner confirmed additional details about Bennington’s death. The 41-year-old singer’s body was found on Thursday at his home in a suburb of Los Angeles. A bottle of alcohol was also found in the room, though it was not near his body, Winter said. Investigators did not find a note in the room. An autopsy is pending.

Bennington had struggled with depression and substance abuse throughout his life. He also appeared to be deeply impacted by the loss of Soundgarden/Audioslave singer Chris Cornell, who died in May and was good friends with Bennington. The Linkin Park frontman died on what would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday.

On Friday, the band’s tour promoter Live Nation announced that all dates on the band’s North American tour, which was scheduled to begin on Thursday, have been cancelled. The tour was scheduled to run from Thursday through Oct. 22, including two “Blinkin Park” co-headlining dates with Blink-182 at New York’s Citi Field and Hersheypark in Pennsylvania. Blink-182 cancelled its appearances at the shows as well, saying in social media posts: “blink-182 is wrecked by the loss of our friend and amazing musician Chester Bennington. We could never imagine playing blinkin park without his incredible talent and voice. It just would not be possible. We send our deepest sympathies to his family, bandmates, friends and fans. Refunds will be available at the place of purchase.”

“We are incredibly saddened to hear about the passing of Chester Bennington,” a statement from the company reads. “The Linkin Park ‘One More Light’ North American Tour has been canceled and refunds are available at point of purchase. Our thoughts go out to all those affected.”