New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert dies at 45

Chad Gilbert, founding member and lead guitarist of Florida pop-punk band New Found Glory, has died at 45.

The band announced his death on Sunday on social media. In its message, the group said Chad Everett Gilbert died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of September 20, according to Rolling Stone. Sunday was September 20.

Gilbert held the lead guitar position. In a guitar band, that usually means playing the melodic lines and solos that sit over the rhythm parts. As a founding member, he was with the group from its beginning.

New Found Glory is described as a Florida pop-punk group. Florida identifies where the band is from. Pop-punk, for readers unfamiliar with the label, is a guitar-led style that joins fast punk playing with pop melody.

His death followed a public account of serious illness earlier in 2026. In March, Gilbert revealed he was battling brain cancer. That disclosure came after a previous fight with cancer in 2021.

The March illness update included surgery. He underwent emergency brain surgery to remove three tumours, as reported by Billboard. The Billboard update was published on March 25. It gave the number of tumours removed as three.

The two reports sit about six months apart. The March report documented the operation and the diagnosis Gilbert had shared. The September report, published on September 20, carried the band's statement about his death that morning.

For readers coming to this story without background, the key points are contained in those two updates. The first set out the diagnosis and the surgery in March. The second set out the death in September. Those are the details confirmed for this article.

What keeps this account clear is the line of attribution. The surgery detail comes from the March Billboard update. The age, date and wording around his passing come from the band's Sunday message as relayed on September 20. The later account is used here as the authoritative version for the death.

The band's social media message is the confirmation for the death. Posts of this kind act as a direct statement from a group to its followers. Rolling Stone's September 20 account relayed that wording.

He was 45. The band gave his full name as Chad Everett Gilbert.