Undated photo of Portland-born singer-songwriter Todd Snider. He dies at 59 on Nov. 14, 2025.
Courtesy of Angelina Castillo via Missing Piece Group
Singer-songwriter Todd Snider has died at the age of 59, according to his record label. Snider’s management team shared news of his death Saturday morning.
Snider was born in Portland and became well known in the roots music scene of the early 2000s, particularly for his album “East Nashville Skyline,” which helped shape the modern alternative country genre.
Snider’s cause of death was not immediately clear, but he had been dealing with various health complications since he sustained injuries in an apparent assault in Salt Lake City, Utah, while on tour in early November.
Snider canceled his Nov. 1 appearance at the Commonwealth Room hours before he was set to go on stage, according to the Tennessean, and the musician was briefly jailed following the incident. The circumstances of what Snider’s team described as an attack and robbery were not immediately clear.
After the Utah-related injuries, Snider canceled his entire tour on Nov. 3, which had included planned Oregon stops in Eugene and Portland, as well as Washington state performances in Seattle and Spokane.
Snider’s family disclosed Friday that the musician had been hospitalized in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with pneumonia.
“How do we move forward without the one who gave us countless 90 minute distractions from our impending doom? The one who always had 18 minutes to share a story. We’ll do it by carrying his stories and songs that contain messages of love, compassion, and peace with us,” Snider’s team posted on his social media platforms Saturday.
Snider’s team encouraged his fans to remember him by putting on one of his records and playing “it loud enough to wake up all of your neighbors or at least loud enough to always wake yourself up.”
Snider shaped his career in the path set by mentors he encountered throughout that career, including John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver and Kris Kristofferson. He was known for his lyrical prowess and vulnerability in his songs.
Regular touring and a working musician’s mentality was part of Snider’s allure for fans. But those long hours on the road affected his life in his later years, as he developed chronic pain from constantly being on the road, according to Rolling Stone.
Snider paused his relentless touring schedule in 2023 to manage his health issues.
“I at least want to do it one more time,” Snider told Rolling Stone as he embarked on his tour for his final record, the 2025 release “High, Lonesome and Then Some.”
Fans quickly began to leave notes of remembrance on Snider’s social media Saturday morning, likening him to Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker and a modern Woody Guthrie.
His record label called him “someone who could almost always find the humor in this crazy ride on Planet Earth.”
“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,” Aimless Records posted to Snider’s website Saturday.
Correction:This story has been updated with the correct photo of Todd Snider. OPB regrets the error.
