Article Contributed by Michael Bachara
Published on November 16, 2025
Todd Snider – photo(s) by Michael Bachara
When the news breaks that a musical giant has passed away, it can shake you to your core. For many, that news was the profound loss of Todd Snider, an American troubadour, who departed this world on November 14, 2025. It will take time for the music community to process, but the legacy of joy, experience, and unmatched storytelling Todd brought to his fans and collaborators will endure.
This loss is deeply personal for those who knew Snider, including this writer, who had the honor of documenting shows as part of Todd’s team. Each performance felt like a pilgrimage for a fan and a privilege for a musical archivist.
Snider, born and raised in Beaverton, Oregon, migrated to Nashville to follow his artistic dream. He began his journey with the 1994 debut album, Songs for a Daily Planet, released under Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville label. Snider was a protégé of legends like John Prine and Kris Kristofferson, legendary figures who quickly became Todd’s family. His most acclaimed works would follow on Prine’s independent Oh Boy Records in the early 2000s, including the albums New Connection, Near Truths and Hotel Rooms, and the 2004 classic, East Nashville Skyline, widely considered Snider’s masterpiece.
Todd’s encyclopedic knowledge of other songwriters’ catalogs—from Garth Brooks to Leftover Salmon—underscored his core nature as a musical savant and a force of nature. His relationships with peers like Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Earl Keen, Guy Clark, Jason Isbell, and Kevn Kinney are the stuff of legend. Famously, when he first arrived in Nashville, Snider drove for John Prine.
“I’ve always been into being a troubadour. I love the chaos, that life of adventure — that’s what struck me. I had a predisposition for it,” Snider told Rolling Stone in 2023. Known as the unofficial “Mayor of East Nashville ” for his charm, compassion, and overall good guy warmth, Todd was a friend to just about every songwriter, stoner and person he encountered. He inspired a new generation of musicians from Billy Strings to Taylor Kingman (TK & the Holy Know Nothings). “A true original, storyteller, and friend who left a mark on all of us. He shaped so much of the scene we all love, and we’re grateful for the moments we shared with him. Sending love to his family, friends, and everyone feeling this loss”, Yonder Mt String Band posted to their Instagram.
Going to a Todd Snider show was never just about the setlist; it was about family and camaraderie. He was known for the elaborate, poignant, and comedic 18-minute stories that bookended his songs. Todd was one of the funniest people I have ever met. His timing as a storyteller was pure genius. Dragging a friend to their first Todd Snider show was always a joy. Todd was a musical enigma.
Snider, along with close friend, Chad Staehly, spearheaded the jamband supergroup, Hard Working Americans (HWA). A natural showman and frontman, Todd flourished. His energetic stage presence was something to behold. Todd was the show.
During the 2020 pandemic, Snider hosted a streaming series every Sunday from his Nashville studio, The Purple Building, dubbed the “First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder.” It was Todd, raw and refreshing, offering a much-needed salve for the soul, a chance to sit and simply listen to a friend talk and play during a time of nationwide loss.
Todd’s roots in Multnomah County often added a special dimension to his Oregon shows, where his high school friends and mom were often in attendance, spurring on his witty banter.
Following Snider’s passing, there has been an incredible outpouring of tributes. In a heartbreaking official statement, Aimless, Inc. Headquarters celebrated their founder: “Our Founder, our Folk Hero, our Poet of the World, our Vice President of the Abrupt Change Dept., the Storyteller, our beloved Todd Daniel Snider has departed this world… He relayed so much tenderness and sensitivity through his songs, and showed many of us how to look at the world through a different lens.”
Close friends echoed this sentiment. Photographer Stacie Huckeba wrote that Todd “changed the course of my life,” calling him her “biggest cheerleader, highest confidant, way too early alarm clock, and ass busting motivator.”
Hayes Carll, a fellow singer songwriter, declared, “Todd Snider was my hero… He inspired us to be artists, to be human, to be ourselves, to create, to laugh, to speak up, to turn up, to take the piss, buck the system, point out the absurd, and to be the absurd.”
Amanda Shires, fiddle player, and member of the supergroup, The Highwomen, described him as a “wild saint of the highway,” a “trickster and a truth-teller” who “lived boldly, art-first, never closing the creative door.”
Jon Latham, a fellow musician, spoke for many, noting that Todd “considered yourself one of us, and you looked upon us as one of you,” fostering the community that he helped build.
As his family’s statement relayed to those who love Todd, fans are encouraged to “put on one of your favorite Todd Snider records and ‘play it loud enough to wake up all of your neighbors or at least loud enough to always wake yourself up.’”
Sail on, old friend. You will always be a force of nature.
Peace. Love. Anarchy.
Todd Snider Rules!
The Grateful Web Family
