New Found Glory has canceled their upcoming show at the Aftershock Festival. The decision comes just days after the death of founding member and lead guitarist Chad Gilbert, who passed away from stage four cancer.
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The iconic pop-punk band announced their decision in a heartfelt thread on X.
"First off, we want to thank everyone for the overwhelming amount of love and tribute posts for Chad these past few days," the thread began. "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."
The band then continued by confirming that they will be performing their shows at Epcot, primarily due to Gilbert's love of Disney and how excited he was about those upcoming dates.
"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."
New Found Glory Had a Plan To Include Chad Gilbert at Epcot
Due to Gilbert's health issues, it was clear he wouldn't be able to perform with New Found Glory. However, his bandmates had already devised a plan to ensure he could be part of the Epcot dates. They shared that plan as part of their thread.
"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."
Finally, the group paid homage to their late guitarist, confirming that everything they do while they're performing at Epcot will be in Gilbert's honor.
"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."
Gilbert's death has undoubtedly sent ripples throughout the punk scene. It's clear that New Found Glory are trying to honor him the best way they know how. That in itself is touching.
