The Wallflowers’ former guitarist Michael Ward dies at age 57

The Wallflowers‘ former guitarist Michael Ward passed away, at age 57, on Monday night.

The Minnesota-born musician performed with the Jakob Dylan-fronted act from 1995–2001, and ‘his talents will forever remain a crucial part of the band’s history.’

‘His contributions to music began before his time with the Wallflowers and continued long after his time with the band,’ The Wallflowers wrote on Facebook Wednesday.

‘Listening to Thin Lizzy on a sorrowful day. Rest now Mike. Much love to his family and his two children.’

Michael – who played in over 50 countries – was nominated for five Grammy Awards throughout his career, winning in 1998 for best rock performance by a duo/group with vocal for The Wallflowers’ hit One Headlight.

The Minnesota-born musician (L, pictured in 2000) performed with the Jakob Dylan-fronted (M) act from 1995–2001, and ‘his talents will forever remain a crucial part of the band’s history’

Ward was fondly remembered by his bandmates from Gogol Bordello, who shared two lengthy Instagram tributes on Wednesday.

‘[Brother Mike] came to share and champion our keen understanding of what it’s really all about: camaraderie and good laughter that we get to take with us at the end,’ frontman Eugene Hütz wrote.

‘He treasured cellular memory of that cathartic camaraderie like we did and was boldly sentimental about it while being an absolutely cold-blooded killer as a player: be it Cro-Magnon riffs, shredding, or steady acoustic guitar finesse – Mike had it covered.’

In 2005, Michael won an NAACP Image Award for outstanding gospel artist for Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama’s album There Will Be A Light.

Ward – who played in over 50 countries – was also a founding member of the early 1990s alternative rock band School of Fish.

In the last several years, Michael – who had a gig scheduled Thursday in Las Vegas – kept busy performing gigs, doing studio sessions, and teaching online guitar classes.

Ward – who was close with Lance Armstrong – is survived by his 24-year-old Swedish-based son Tennessee Ward (with an undisclosed woman) and 10-year-old son Odin Von Ward (with fellow musician Kehau Kahananui).

The Wallflowers wrote on Facebook Wednesday: ‘His contributions to music began before his time with the Wallflowers and continued long after his time with the band. Listening to Thin Lizzy on a sorrowful day. Rest now Mike. Much love to his family and his two children’

Michael – who played in over 50 countries – was nominated for five Grammy Awards throughout his career, winning in 1998 for best rock performance by a duo/group with vocal for The Wallflowers’ hit One Headlight (pictured in 1996)

Ward was fondly remembered by his bandmates from Gogol Bordello, who shared two lengthy Instagram tributes on Wednesday: ‘[Brother Mike] came to share and champion our keen understanding of what it’s really all about: camaraderie and good laughter that we get to take with us at the end’

In 2005, Michael won an NAACP Image Award for outstanding gospel artist for Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama’s album There Will Be A Light (pictured in 2000)

Ward – who had a gig scheduled Thursday in Las Vegas – kept busy performing gigs, doing studio sessions, and teaching online guitar classes (pictured December 12)

Michael is survived by his 24-year-old Swedish-based son Tennessee Ward (L, pictured in 2019) with an undisclosed woman, and 10-year-old son Odin Von Ward (R) with fellow musician Kehau Kahananui