Todd Snider, the influential alt-country singer-songwriter known for hits such as Alright Guy, has died at the age of 59. His passing was announced on his official social media accounts. No cause of death was given, but his family revealed on Friday that he had recently been hospitalised with pneumonia.
His record label, Aimless, Inc., posted a statement on social media, describing him as a “Folk Hero” and “Poet of the World”. The statement read: “Aimless, Inc. Headquarters is heartbroken to share that our Founder, our Folk Hero, our Poet of the World, our Vice President of the Abrupt Change Dept., the Storyteller, our beloved Todd Daniel Snider has departed this world.” It continued: “He relayed so much tenderness and sensitivity through his songs, and showed many of us how to look at the world through a different lens.”
Snider had previously spoken openly about the chronic pain he endured due to spinal stenosis. Earlier this month, his team cancelled the remainder of his tour, reporting that he had sustained severe injuries as the victim of a violent assault outside his hotel in Salt Lake City. However, police later said they had no record of such an assault, and body-camera footage showed Snider being arrested for disorderly conduct. In the footage, he told officers he was in pain and, when asked if he was homeless, replied that he was “famous”, adding that his band had left town after the show was cancelled.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Snider moved to northern California after high school and then drifted to Texas in the 1980s, where he met Jerry Jeff Walker, who became a key mentor. By the 1990s, he had settled in Nashville, becoming a defining figure of the gritty east Nashville scene. His 2004 album East Nashville Skyline remains a cornerstone of the alt-country genre.
