Gared O'Donnell — vocalist and guitarist of American post-hardcore outfit Planes Mistaken for Stars — has died following a 2020 diagnosis of stage 3 esophageal cancer. The band confirmed in a statement that the frontman passed away yesterday (November 24). He was 44.
"It is impossible to express the depth of sorrow in which we must announce that Gared O'Donnell, our brother, our leader, our captain, who has done more to cultivate love and light in this world than any of us can understand, has moved on from his physical form here with us and crossed the rainbow bridge into the eternal ether. In his final days/hours, he was surrounded by the love of his family, his friends, his bandmates, and many others from afar," Planes Mistaken for Stars wrote on Instagram.
O'Donnell helped form Planes Mistaken for Stars in 1997. The band's most recent album was 2016's Prey, marking their first full-length in a decade, and they share in the statement that more new material is on the way.
"Gared spent the last year of his life doing exactly what he loved, writing and recording music. We are currently working hard to bring these multiple final projects to completion," they revealed. "It is heartbreaking to do this without him, but we know that he would want for us to complete what we had started together. We will do our absolute best to honour his legacy and spread word of the legend that he embodied."
Find the band's complete statement alongside tributes from Dashboard Confessional, Pianos Become the Teeth, Vile Creature and more below.
"It is impossible to express the depth of sorrow in which we must announce that Gared O'Donnell, our brother, our leader, our captain, who has done more to cultivate love and light in this world than any of us can understand, has moved on from his physical form here with us and crossed the rainbow bridge into the eternal ether. In his final days/hours, he was surrounded by the love of his family, his friends, his bandmates, and many others from afar," Planes Mistaken for Stars wrote on Instagram.
O'Donnell helped form Planes Mistaken for Stars in 1997. The band's most recent album was 2016's Prey, marking their first full-length in a decade, and they share in the statement that more new material is on the way.
"Gared spent the last year of his life doing exactly what he loved, writing and recording music. We are currently working hard to bring these multiple final projects to completion," they revealed. "It is heartbreaking to do this without him, but we know that he would want for us to complete what we had started together. We will do our absolute best to honour his legacy and spread word of the legend that he embodied."
Find the band's complete statement alongside tributes from Dashboard Confessional, Pianos Become the Teeth, Vile Creature and more below.
