Aerosmith's Joe Perry Is 'Alert & Responsive' After Reported Collapse at Billy Joel Concert
Joe Perry is alert and responsive after being hospitalized on Saturday night, PEOPLE can confirm.
“Following a guest performance during Billy Joel’s show last night at Madison Square Garden, Joe Perry experienced shortness of breath and was treated backstage by paramedics who gave the guitarist oxygen and used a tracheal tube to clear his airway before taking him to a hospital,” a rep for the Aerosmith guitarist, 68, tells PEOPLE in a statement.
“This morning Perry remains in the hospital where he is alert and responsive,” the statement continues, adding that Perry “will be unable to appear today at Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp in Florida and apologizes to those attending.”
“Perry is expected to return to the road later this month,” the statement from Perry’s rep concludes.
An Aerosmith spokesperson added that “he had some breathing issues but he’s okay.”
The musician collapsed backstage shortly after performing “Walk This Way” onstage, TMZ reported.
Sirius XM host Eddie Trunk tweeted on Saturday that he heard Perry was “doing well today.”
“Sending my best to rock icon and friend @JoePerry,” wrote Trunk. ?”Joe was just with me on my last radio special from LA. I’m hearing he’s doing well today thankfully! Be well Joe!!”
RELATED: Joe Perry in Stable Condition After Collapsing During Performance with Johnny Depp
During a 2016 concert with his other band, the Hollywood Vampires (which also includes Johnny Depp and legendary rocker Alice Cooper), Perry stumbled backstage and collapsed.
Perry told PEOPLE last year that “everybody’s good” health-wise.
“Every time I stand in front of an audience, I get a kick out of it,” he said of getting back out on stage. “I started off being a fan and then slowly shifted over into this other side of the footlights.”
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In August, Aerosmith announced a new residency series set to hit Las Vegas in April 2019. Dubbed “Deuces Are Wild” — after their 1994 hit — the show will take place at the Park Theater, housed in the new Park MGM on the town’s legendary strip.
“We decided to do Vegas. Viva Las Aerosmith!” said frontman Steven Tyler. “We’re gonna keep it raw, we’re gonna keep it who were are. There are gonna be no changes. It’s not gonna be Flory-Dories, it’s gonna be beautiful and rocked out and we’re gonna get a chance to use some special effects that haven’t been used before.”
