Co-founder and lead guitarist of pop-punk band New Found Glory, Chad Gilbert, has died at the age of 45 after a years-long battle with cancer.
The Florida-based band and Gilbert’s wife Lisa Cimorelli announced Gilbert had “passed away peacefully in his sleep” on September 20.
“He left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished,” a post to social media says.
“We are devastated and shocked by how quickly he left us, yet so grateful for how peacefully and smoothly he went.”
Gilbert and New Found Glory became one of the cornerstones of the pop-punk genre after breaking into the mainstream with their 2002 single My Friends Over You.
Their 2004 album Catalyst would go on to peak at No.3 on the Billboard 200 and led to them becoming the support act on Green Day’s American Idiot tour later that year.
The band remembered Gilbert as a “legendary musician” but added that of all the achievements, his “favourite... Was being a husband and father”.
“The amount of visitors that crowded the hospital lobby at a moment’s notice is a testament to how beloved and cherished Chad was and always will be,” the social media post reads.
He married Cimorelli in 2020 and the pair had a daughter in 2021, the same year that Gilbert was first diagnosed with liver cancer.
Another tumour was found in his spine in 2022 and he underwent intense chemotherapy to control tumors in his lungs and back.
Gilbert continued to perform live alongside the band throughout the experience and into recovery, which led to a concerning update earlier this year.
They were performing in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 20 when he lost control of his left hand.
His condition worsened over the following days, losing control of his left leg which resulted in him stumbling and “falling at times”.
A subsequent CT scan showed three new tumours had grown in his brain.
Gilbert fellow bandmates, contemporaries, friends and fans moved to the post to pay tribute to a legend of the genre.
“We lost one of the greats today,” New Found Glory drummer Cyrus Bolooki said.
“Thirty years of doing this together and a lifetime of memories made in that time.
“Thankful for everything that we experienced together and forever grateful to have Chad in my life.”
Gilbert is survived by his wife, daughter Lily, mother and brother.