The lead singer of the rock band Incubus was arrested for a carrying a switchblade in his bag while trying to board a plane on his way to a concert in North Carolina.
Brandon Boyd, 28, was stopped Wednesday at LaGuardia Airport when baggage screeners spotted the knife in his carry-on luggage, said Lou Martinez, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
Boyd was charged with criminal possession of a weapon but was able to continue on to Raleigh, N.C., in time for the concert, said a spokeswoman for the band’s label, Epic Records.
Boyd admitted he accidentally left the knife in his bag and called the incident “my bad,” spokeswoman Lois Najarian said.
“I totally forgot it was at the bottom of my bag, and when the security person pulled it out, I thought, ‘Oh, no,”’ Boyd said in a statement Thursday.
Upon arriving in Raleigh, Boyd had only about 20 minutes to get from the airport to the concert hall, so Incubus’ manager arranged for a police escort.
“That was the most rock star of an entrance I’ve ever made,” Boyd said. “The police cars pulled up to the venue and I literally walked right on stage.”
Incubus, formed in 1991 in California, has produced five albums and achieved chart success with hits such as “Pardon Me” and “Drive,” which reached the Billboard Top 10 in 2001. The band is on a sold-out tour of the United States and has a new album, “Live at Red Rocks,” scheduled for release Nov. 23.