ATHENS, GA (CelebrityAccess) — Todd Nance, founding member and longtime drummer for the legendary jam band Widespread Panic, died on August 19th in Athens. He was 57.
His death was first announced by his collaborator Cody Dickinson, and later confirmed by statement from the band.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that Todd Nance, a founding member of Widespread Panic, passed away early this morning in Athens, GA from sudden and unexpectedly severe complications of a chronic illness. There are no services being planned at this time, but information will be shared as decisions are made regarding the best way to honor Todd’s extraordinary life and career. The Nance family appreciates the love and support of all and requests that their privacy be honored during this hard time.”
A cause of death was not disclosed, but Nance had been suffering from an undisclosed chronic illness for some time that prompted him to step back from the band in 2016.
A native of Chattanooga, Nance attended high school with future Widespread Panic bandmate Michael Houser and the two briefly formed the band Just Us after graduating from high school in 1981 before Nance relocated to Atlanta.
Nance reconnected with his former school chum in 1986 and sat in as the drummer for the first official Widespread Panic show during a charity event in Athens that year.
He continued to perform and tour with the band until 2014 when took a break for personal reasons and was replaced by Duane Trucks, however, he rejoined Widespread Panic for several shows before the band announced he was officially exited the group.
In addition to Widespread Panic, Nance was a member of the band’s side project Beast and in 1997, he co-founded the supergroup Barbara Cue in 1997 with William Tonks, John Neff, Jon Mills, and Crumpy Edwards.
