Chad Gilbert, founding guitarist of New Found Glory and vocalist for Shai Hulud, died this week due to complications from brain cancer. Today, his ex-wife, Hayley Williams, has posted a written tribute to Gilbert.
On her Instagram story, Williams shared the following message:
Have not known what to say or if it’s appropriate. But I feel sure now that I want to bc life is made of the paths we cross and the reasons we cross them are infinite.
Chad is indeed a legend in the scene and my time connected to him taught me a lot. He introduced me to people that continue to shape my life in beautiful ways, and to music and culture that has made life a lot richer.
There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about what he contributed to the musical world a lot of us grew up in. His influence and attitude guided the genre forward. His passion for fostering the community was inspiring and sticks with me.
I will forever be grateful that from him I gained a deeper understanding and a reverence for the community and the culture of hardcore.
Sending love and my sympathies to his family, NFG fam, and all his friends.
Gilbert and Williams, as a member of Paramore, were both active in the Warped Tour-centric punk and emo scene at the height of the MySpace era. They began dating in 2007, got married in 2016, and divorced in 2017.
Following Gilbert’s death, New Found Glory canceled their Aftershock Festival appearance in Sacramento on Oct. 1, but today they announced six sets at Walt Disney World next week. “Anyone who knew Chad knew that he was a massive Disney fan,” the band writes. Here is their full statement:
First off, we want to thank everyone for the overwhelming amount of love and tribute posts for Chad these past few days. Seeing how deeply he touched so many lives means everything to us, and we know he would be so proud to see it.
To give ourselves time to process and grieve, we have made the decision to cancel our upcoming appearance at Aftershock Festival. We rarely cancel shows but this felt needed.
Anyone who knew Chad knew that he was a massive Disney fan. Our shows at Epcot were dates he was so excited for and he was actively planning to be on stage with us there. He had already worked on the setlists with us and was practicing as much as possible to be ready. Because of how much he wanted to play these shows, taking the stage at Epcot feels like the right way to honor him, and what he would want us to do. Our plan from the beginning with him was to announce our Epcot sets ahead of time, so we feel it’s only appropriate to share them with you now as we prepare to play in his memory.
Every note we play and every word you sing at Epcot is for Chad. Thank you all for wrapping us in so much love, understanding, and support as we come together to honor his legacy.
