Autumn Kings Praise Good Samaritan Who Saved 'Greatest Show'

Autumn Kings were the benefactors of a Good Samaritan's generosity in a moment of need as a stranger lent them his car to get to what became the band's "single greatest show" of their career. The moment was also featured on a CBS Evening News report last night (Aug. 4).

The Canadian rockers are currently supporting their fourth album Epiphanies with their latest single "Gone Gone Gone" just hitting the Top 10 for both the Mediabase Active Rock and Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.

Helping to continue building their profile, they were part of the recent annual Rock Fest lineup in Cadott, Wisconsin and the Upheaval Festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But engine trouble with their van almost derailed their tour plans. That is until a 60-year-old Good Samaritan named Ernie Russell stepped in to help the group.

How Did a Good Samaritan Help Autumn Kings Get to Upheaval Festival?

In video shared to their Facebook page, singer-guitarist Jake Diab recounted the whole experience of how their Upheaval Festival appearance was saved by Ernie.

"It's been one heck of a last few days. We were in Wisconsin at Rock Fest. Our engine broke down in Cadott. I called about 16 mechanics, got one answer. In the meantime, we had a lovely gentleman, a 60-year-old man named Ernie. Ernie pulled up a complete stranger to us at the time and said, 'You guys need help?' And we said, 'Well, we got a mechanic on the way, but let me take your number just in case,'" shared the singer.

After being told their vehicle would take multiple days for repair, Diab says they then reached out to Ernie who had offered to help. As the singer tells it, "We called Ernie and Ernie says, 'You guys just want to take my car?' [We're like], 'Really? To Grand Rapids?' It's like eight hours away.' [And he's like], 'Yeah, you can take it.' [We're] strangers at the time. Ernie let us use his red Ford vehicle which we are now driving back to Ernie from Michigan to Wisconsin on our way to Spokane."

Reflecting on this good deed, the singer adds, "With all the things you hear about how the world is always going to hell, there are truly generous human beings beyond comprehension. If it weren't for Ernie, we wouldn't have been able to get to Upheaval Fest. And heaven was looking down on us because we all had no sleep. How is this possible on no sleep that we had what I believe was the single greatest show of our entire career? People were singing every word to every original song. The mosh pit, the crowd surfing numerous times with every song. It was one of those really, really whirlwind experiences for The Autumn Kings history book."

Footage from the Upheaval Festival shared by the band can be viewed below.

What Did Ernie Say About Helping Out Autumn Kings?

On a high from the Upheaval Festival experience and the good fortune that came their way, Diab then shared video of the band returning back to Northwoods, Wisconsin where they reunited Ernie with his vehicle and spoke with the Good Samaritan about why he did what he did.

"Well, these guys are pretty cool," shared Ernie. "I never met a live band before and I just stopped to help three strangers on the side of the road and when they said they had to get to Grand Rapids in 10 hours, I said, 'I have an extra car. Why don't you just take her for a ride?' For a while, they didn't believe I was actually going to do it, but it all worked out. They made their concert and now my car is back home, so everything worked out good."

What Else Did Autumn Kings Have to Say About the Experience?

Since the kind act, the story was picked up by CBS News (see below) and has started to go viral.

In a statement provided to Loudwire, Autumn Kings frontman Jake Diab shared, "In a world where people are constantly inundated with pessimistic news, it’s inspiring to see that one man’s kindness toward us could go this viral — a reminder that optimism and positivity can and do spread at lightning speed, as people are hungry for hope.

"Me and the Autumn Kings guys are so thankful to Ernie and his ‘Midwest kindness’ for lending us his red Ford Explorer to us when we had no other way of getting to Upheaval Fest in Grand Rapids the next day, which happened to be the best show of our careers. A moment for the Autumn Kings history books, one we’ll never forget."

The moment was part of CBS Evening News' "The Good Stuff" segment as seen below.