Judas Priest guitarist thankful for life-saving surgery after on-stage emergency in Louisville…

One of the musicians coming to Louder Than Life has a special connection to Louisville because doctors saved his life.

At Louder than Life 2021, the guitarist of Judas Priest had a major medical emergency on stage. Richie Faulkner suffered an aortic aneurysm while performing at the festival. It happened during the last song of the band’s set.

Medics rushed him to UofL Health Heart Hospital, where doctors worked to save him during a 10-and-a-half-hour open heart surgery.

“It’s like the reaper was on stage in Louisville that night and I beat him,” Faulkner said. “I can only be grateful to chance really and it happened that way and that there was such a team of great surgeons and nurses and caregivers three miles down the road. I couldn’t have been more lucky.”

Faulkner took five months off recovering through cardiac rehab then went back out on the road playing for thousands of fans.