Timothy Very, longtime drummer for Manchester Orchestra, has died at 42.
His bandmates confirmed the news on Saturday, February 14, in a heartfelt Instagram statement, writing, “The entire Manchester Orchestra family has been devastated by the sudden passing of our brother, Timothy Very,” adding they are in “absolute disbelief.”
A cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
Very’s passion for music began early and never wavered — thanks to his father, who was also a drummer. Raised in Pensacola, Florida, Very first picked up sticks as a teenager after a noticing his father’s unused kit.
“My dad heard me banging on them and he came down and set ’em up the right way,” he recalled on the Drummers on Drumming podcast in 2022. “That really kind of started the whole path… I instantly knew that this was something I was going to be doing for a long time
Very’s early influences included Dave Grohl, when he was the drummer for Nirvana during their ‘90s peak. “I instantly jumped in and started trying to learn Nirvana songs,” he said, praising Grohl for writing “the perfect parts for songs.”
He officially joined Manchester Orchestra in 2010, debuting on Simple Math and continuing through multiple acclaimed releases. He described himself as “a songwriter’s drummer,” hoping to leave every track better than he found it.
Offstage, bandmates said he was the same — a joyful father, a steady friend, and a force of positivity whose rhythm carried far beyond the stage.
“He had an undeniable light that was only matched by his dedication and love for the craft that he was clearly put on earth to do,” the band wrote in their tribute.
