French singer Barbara Weldens died while performing on stage at a concert, according to NME. She was 35.
Weldens was singing at a church in the village of Goudron in southwestern France as part of the Festival Léo Ferré when she collapsed mid-song. There are conflicting reports regarding her cause of death with some reporting that she suffered a cardiac arrest and the BBC saying that she may have been electrocuted. Police are investigating, and the remainder of the festival has been canceled.
According to a biography on her website, Weldens grew up in the circus and took a particular liking to juggling, acrobatics and trapeze. She later learned how to play the piano and began writing and performing her own songs.
Her debut album, Le Grand H de L’Homme, was released last year and met with critical praise and several awards for her songwriting and music.
The organizers of the Pic D’Or prize, which Weldens won in 2016, said in a statement, according to NME, “It was with great emotion that we learned this morning of the death of Barbara Weldens, our Pic d’Or 2016 at a concert last night in Gourdon in the Lot, obviously electrocuted.
“Our team is deeply disturbed by the brutal disappearance of the artist who had appeared on the stage of the Theater des Nouveaux on May 20th, during our last edition. A radiant woman, full of energy and talented, and of course we think of all her family and her loved ones.”
