Jane’s Addiction‘s Dave Navarro has spoken of the “massive impact” Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell‘s suicides had on him.

The guitarist has joined forces with friends from the music industry to present ‘Above Ground’ – a concert to raise awareness of suicide prevention and mental health issues. Taking place in LA on April 16, the event will feature the likes of Billy Idol, Courtney Love and Corey Taylor.

Navarro organised the gig following the deaths of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.


Speaking to Yahoo ahead of the concert, Navarro discussed how the musicians’ suicides affected him.

“We have lost a lot of friends this year, due to mental health issues,” he said. “I don’t have any insight as to what their mental health issues were or weren’t, so I don’t want to lump them in that category. I’m not a doctor. I can’t sit here and say what they did and didn’t have, and what caused them to do what they did.

“But I would say that going to Chris Cornell’s funeral and seeing Chester Bennington sing a beautiful song for his friend, and then [Chester] taking his life a month later, really had a massive impact on me.”

Navarro went on to say how their deaths made him reflect on past personal struggles – hoping that events like Above Ground will prompt people in similar situations to speak out about their issues.


“I couldn’t help but be brought back to the times when I had felt that lonely, that desperate, that suicidal, and I just want to change the playing field and let people know that there are options out there. [Suicide] isn’t the final answer.

“It’s okay to reach out for help.”

Last month, Chester Bennington’s wife called on fans to mark the late frontman’s birthday by taking part in a mental health awareness campaign.

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