Obituaries

Chad Gilbert, New Found Glory Guitarist, Dies at 45

September 21, 2026

Chad Gilbert, the guitarist who co-founded the pop-punk band New Found Glory, died on Sunday. He was 45.

Gilbert's wife, Lisa Cimorelli, and the band confirmed his death in a joint social media statement: "On the morning of September 20th, Chad Everett Gilbert passed away peacefully in his sleep. 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. We are shocked and devastated by how quickly he left us yet so grateful for how peacefully and smoothly he went. The number of visitors who crowded the hospital lobby at a moment's notice is a testament to how beloved and cherished Chad was, and always will be."

Gilbert had spent the last several years in treatment for cancer. He contracted liver cancer in 2021, revealing earlier this year that doctors had diagnosed him with stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma, a rare and aggressive brain cancer.

Gilbert's chunky riffs propelled pop-punk standouts like "My Friends Over You," "Hit or Miss," "Head on Collision" and "All Downhill From Here" into the upper reaches of the Modern Rock chart in the early 2000s, putting the band at the forefront of the genre.

Gilbert cultivated deep ties on the scene, playing on a pair of Fall Out Boy albums and embarking on a long relationship with Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams. (After dating for nearly a decade, they married in 2016 but divorced a year later.)

Cancer survivor Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 posted a tribute on Instagram: "Chad was the best friend to every person he met. The most positive and creative force in any room he walked into. These past years he fought his sickness with the soul of a joyous, courageous warrior. With dignity, love and gratitude. He never complained once, only kept saying how lucky he was. For everything. Today we lost a good one, and the world won't be the same."

Born in Coral Springs, Florida, on March 9, 1981, Chad Gilbert played in a string of hardcore punk bands, including Shai Hulud, before forming New Found Glory in 1997 with singer Jordan Pundik, bassist Ian Grushka, guitarist Steve Klein and drummer Joe Moreno, who was swiftly replaced by Cyrus Bolooki.

Nothing Gold Can Stay, the band’s 1999 debut, on Eulogy, attracted the attention of Drive-Thru Records, which signed it for an eponymous 2000 album. Lead single "Hit or Miss" laid the groundwork for 2002’s Sticks and Stones, a #4 entry on the Billboard 200 thanks in part to "My Friends Over You," a Modern Rock hit that itself cracked the Hot 100. Catalyst, from 2004, built upon that success, peaking at #3.

Once New Found Glory concluded its contract with Drive-Thru, the band maintained its momentum recording for a variety of indies, occasionally masquerading as The International Superheroes of Hardcore. Gilbert also kept busy producing albums by H20 and A Day To Remember and reviving Shai Hulud while releasing solo recordings as What's Eating Gilbert.

Klein left NFG in 2013, but the band carried on, touring and recording steadily through this year’s Listen Up!, written and recorded while Gilbert was battling cancer.

Gilbert is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their daughter, Lily; his mother, Jackie; and his brother, Brian.