Their van died. A stranger saved their whole tour.

A Detroit metal band made it 500 miles to their next festival last week because a Wisconsin man named Ernie handed them the keys to his Ford Explorer. The Autumn Kings, a touring trio, had just played Rock Fest Wisconsin in the Chippewa Valley when their van died on a rural highway. Every mechanic they called needed two days to fix the engine. They had ten hours to reach the Upheaval Festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ernie, who is in his sixties, pulled over to see if he could help, then lent his truck for several days so the band could finish the tour. They drove more than a thousand miles on it. When they returned the Explorer, they asked why he had done it. He had never met a live band before. "I just did it to help three strangers on the side of the road," he said. Guitarist Jake Diab called it the greatest show of their career.