Roy Jurgens on March 28th, 2019

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Liverpool pop duo Her’s were killed early Wednesday morning in a horrific freeway accident as they drove from a concert in Phoenix to one scheduled at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana. The duo of Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading, along with their tour manager, Minneapolis resident Trevor Engelbrektson, were headed west on I-10 near Centennial, Ariz., when they were struck head-on and killed by a Nissan pickup driving the wrong way. The driver of that vehicle also died at the scene. The nature of the fiery accident was so violent that DPS Trooper Kameron Lee commented, “This is something that our troopers who were there investigating will never forget.”

The duo were in the midst of their second U.S. tour, playing 19 sold-out dates to a rabid fanbase, following up last year’s successful sojourn which saw them play a sold-out show at the Echoplex in November. They had released their debut album “Invitation to Her’s,” to rave reviews last August.

“They were an amazing band with so many U.S. fans and after every show they would spend hours talking to every single fan who wanted to talk to them,” said Mick Scholefield, founder of the band’s label Heist or Hit Records (which also was home to L.A. quartet Northern American).

A collection of intimate power-pop and lo-fi bedroom indie, the Her’s album playfully skipped like a stone across genres as varied as bossa nova, New Wave, blue-eyed soul and electro-pop. Fitzpatrick (on vocals and guitar) and Laading (bass and backing vocals) met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, where they worked on their initial release, “Songs of Her’s,” while touring with a life sized cutout of Pierce Brosnan and a drum machine, who was preferred over a human because it didn’t drink too much.

Engelbrektson, a Wisconsin native, was a sound engineer and tour manager who worked with artists such as Mali’s Songhoy Blues and Chicago’s Ike Reilly. “He was the most loyal and diligent person I’ve ever had work for me,” Reilly said via email on Thursday. “More importantly, he was a great friend, a great father and a great husband. This is devastating.”

The news initially came via a Facebook post from Heist or Hit:

It is with overwhelming sadness that we regretfully inform you that Liverpool band Her’s, Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading, and their tour manager Trevor Engelbrektson tragically passed away in a road accident in the early hours of Wednesday whilst traveling to a show in Santa Ana, California.

We are all heartbroken.

Having recently released their debut album “Invitation to Her’s,” Stephen and Audun were on their second tour of North America playing 19 dates of sold-out shows to a fanbase that adored them. The pair were one of the U.K.’s most loved up and coming bands.