The lead singer of soul group The Chambers Brothers is singing Curtis Mayfield's 'People Get Ready' when a woman named Dinalynn Andrews Potter jumps onto the stage and assaults him.
- Jul 16, 2013
AceShowbiz - Soul singer Lester Chambers was attacked when paying tribute to Trayvon Martin during his show at California's Hayward Russell City Blues Festival. A woman, identified as Dinalynn Andrews Potter, climbed the stage and pushed the 73-year-old singer when he was singing Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready".
According to wife Lola Chambers, the assault happened after her husband told the crowd if Curtis were alive today, he'd change the lyrics from "there's a train a comin' " to "there's a change a comin'." Dinalynn reportedly screamed, "It's all your fault," before intruding the show.
"She must have been an acrobat," Lola said. "She did it in one leap. He didn't see her coming."
Friend Kurt Kangas, Lester's friend who immediately ran to help him, said that Dinalynn "had a crazed look in her eye" when assaulting the singer. "I saw the devil there," he told Mercury News.
Dinalynn was then arrested for suspicion of battery and released with formal charges expected to be filed. According to Billboard, Chambers' family is pushing authorities to file hate crime charges.
Lester, who suffered minor injuries, was transported to a local hospital. "Dylan Here.... Lester was just assaulted on stage at The Russell City Hayward Blues Festival by a crazed woman after dad dedicated People Get Ready to Trayvon Martin. He is on the way to the hospital now," Lester's son, Dylan, wrote on his father's Facebook page.
Dylan later posted a photo of his father's injuries. "DAD... A bruised rib muscle and nerve damage and he is sore all over...," he wrote on Saturday night, July 13.
Lester is one of musicians who have paid tribute to Martin, who was gunned down by George Zimmerman in 2012. On Saturday, Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges by a jury of six women.
Beyonce Knowles, Young Jeezy and Wyclef Jean are other artists who have responded to Zimmerman's not guilty verdict.
