Bad News: Mike Beatty of Alkari Suffered a Heart Attack Onstage Friday Night

Hey, all — in case some folks haven’t yet heard, I wanted to pass along some bad (although not as bad as it could be) news. This past Friday night, while playing with his band {Alkari} up at Fitzgerald’s, guitarist/singer Mike Beatty had a heart attack.

He reportedly collapsed during the second song in the band’s set, and thankfully, there happened to be two nurses in the audience who were able to give him CPR until help arrived. Mike’s Alkari bandmate Jason Smith, has been keeping us updated as to how he’s doing, and the good news is that he’s now conscious after being out most of yesterday, and is seemingly on the mend. The doctors say there doesn’t appear to have been any bleeding in his brain, which is encouraging, and his family says he’s “awake and alert.”

For those who don’t know him, Mike’s a great guy, always happy to hang out and chat even when other stuff’s going on all around; even when we butt heads (mostly over political stuff), he’s still a cool dude, ready to laugh it off a minute later. I’m still pretty stunned to see him struck down like this — it seems pretty unreal.

Of course, everybody here at SCR HQ is thinking about Mike, his family, and his bandmates, and we’ll be hoping & praying Mike has a quick recovery. Hang in there, man — we need you around here for a good long while yet, alright?

(Photo by Jason Smith.)