2018 in music

This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2018 in music.

Specific locations

[2018 in 2018 in African music|African music|African]
[2018 in 2018 in American music|American music|American]
Asian
*[2018 in 2018 in Chinese music|Chinese music|Chinese]
*[2018 in 2018 in Japanese music|Japanese music|Japanese]
*Philippine
*[2018 in 2018 in South Korean music|South Korean music|South Korean]
[2018 in 2018 in Canadian music|Canadian music|Canadian]
European
*[2018 in 2018 in British music|British music|British]
*Scandinavian
**[2018 in 2018 in Danish music|Danish music|Danish]
**Finnish
**[2018 in 2018 in Icelandic music|Icelandic music|Icelandic]
**[2018 in 2018 in Norwegian music|Norwegian music|Norwegian]
**[2018 in 2018 in Swedish music|Swedish music|Swedish]
[2018 in 2018 in Latin music|Latin music|Latin]

Specific genres

Classical
Country
Heavy metal
Hip hop
Electronic
Jazz
Latin
New Wave
Opera
Pop
Punk
Progressive Rock
Rock
R&B
World music
K-pop
J-pop

Bands formed

Soloist debuts

Bands reformed

Bands on hiatus

Bands disbanded

Deaths

January

* Jon Paul Steuer, 33, American punk singer and actor
* Betty Willis, 76, American R&B singer2 – Rick Hall, 85, American record producer3 – Josiah Boyd, 32, American heavy metal bassist 4 – Ray Thomas, 76, British progressive rock flautist 5 – Mikio Fujioka, 36, Japanese heavy metal guitarist 7
* France Gall, 70, French pop singer
* Buster Stiggs, 63, British-born New Zealand punk drummer 8 – Denise LaSalle, 83, American blues and R&B singer-songwriter9 – Paul Antingnani, American heavy metal drummer
10 – "Fast" Eddie Clarke, 67, British heavy metal guitarist
12 – Pierre Pincemaille, 61, French classical organist
13 – Tzimis Panousis, 63, Greek comedy singer
15
* Edwin Hawkins, 74, American gospel singer, songwriter and pianist
* Dolores O'Riordan, 46, Irish alternative rock singer-songwriter
16
* Dave Holland, 69, English heavy metal drummer
* Madalena Iglésias, 78, Portuguese classic pop singer
17 – Ric Jacobs, 61, American pop-rock singer
18 – Steve Nisbett, 69, Nevisian-born British reggae drummer
19 – Fredo Santana, 27, American rapper
20
* Terry Evans, 70, American blues singer and guitarist
* Mario Guccio, 64, Belgian rock singer
* Jim Rodford, 76, British rock bassist
22 – Preston Shannon, 70, American blues singer and guitarist
23
* Hugh Masekela, 78, South African jazz trumpeter
* Lari White, 52, American country music singer
24 – Mark E. Smith, 60, British post-punk singer-songwriter
25
* Tommy Banks, 81, Canadian jazz pianist
* Steve Foster, Australian folk singer
* Floyd Miles, 74, American blues singer and guitarist
26
* Buzz Clifford, 76, American pop singer
* Igor Zhukov, 81, Russian classical pianist
27 – Grant Fell, 56, New Zealand industrial rock bassist
28 – Neil Harris, 63, British punk guitarist
28
* Eddie Shaw, 80, American blues saxophonist
* Coco Schumann, 93, German jazz guitarist
31
* Del Delker, 93, American gospel singer
* Leah LaBelle, 31, Canadian-born American R&B singer

February

– Rick Evans, American musician 1
* Dennis Edwards, 74, American R&B singer
* Mowzey Radio, 33, Ugandan pop singer 3 – Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, 65, American jazz and rock drummer5 – Zeno Roth, 51, German rock guitarist 7
* John Perry Barlow, 70, American rock songwriter
* Mickey Jones, 76, American country-rock drummer
* Pat Torpey, 64, American hard rock drummer 8
* Algia Mae Hinton, 88, American blues singer
* Lovebug Starski, 57, American rapper
* Ebony Reigns, 20, Ghanaian dancehall singer9
* Jóhann Jóhannsson, 48, Icelandic film composer
* Craig MacGregor, 68, American rock bassist 11
* Vic Damone, 89, American pop singer
* Tom Rapp, 70, American psychedelic rock singer 12
* Daryle Singletary, 46, American country singer
* Klaasje van der Wal, 69, Dutch hard rock bassist 13
* Scott Boyer, 70, American rock singer and guitarist
* Billy Johnson, American emo and noise rock drummer 14 – Nuray Hafiftaş, 53, Turkish folk singer16 – Barbara Alston, 74, American R&B singer 19
* Johnny Mosby, 88, American country music singer
* Norm Rogers, 61, American alternative country drummer
* Stormin MC, 34, British grime rapper22 – Errol Buddle, 89, Australian jazz bassoonist and saxophonist23 – Eddy Amoo, 73, British soul singer 24 – Bud Luckey, 83, American voice actor and singer

March

1 – Bill Burkette, 75, American pop singer 2

* Jesus Lopez Cobos, 78, Spanish classic music conductor
* Brandon Jenkins, 48, American Red Dirt country singer-songwriter
* Van McLain, 62, American rock guitarist and singer 3
* Patrick Doyle, 31, British indie rock drummer
* Kenneth Gärdestad, 69, Swedish pop songwriter7 – Jerzy Milian, 82, Polish jazz vibraphonist9 – Pyarelal Wadali, 75, Indian Sufi folk singer 11 – Ken Dodd, 90, British comedian and pop singer12
* Nokie Edwards, 82, American surf rock guitarist
* Craig Mack, 47, American rapper13
* Claudia Fontaine, 57, British pop and ska singer
* Jimmy Wisner, 86, American pianist, arranger, songwriter14
* Steve Mandell, 76, American bluegrass guitarist and banjoist
* Liam O'Flynn, 72, Irish uilleann piper
* Charlie Quintana, 56, American punk rock drummer 16
* Laurence Cleary, 60, Irish new wave guitarist
* Buell Neidlinger, 82, American jazz bassist and cellist18 – Killjoy, 48, American death metal singer 20 – Peter "Mars" Cowling, 72, British blues rock bassist 22 – Morgana King, 87, American jazz singer24 – Lys Assia, 94, Swiss pop singer25 – Seo Min-woo, 33, South Korean pop singer 27 – Kenny O'Dell, 73, American country singer-songwriter28 – Caleb Scofield, 39, American alternative rock and sludge metal bassist and singer 30
* Alias, 41, American rapper and producer
* Sabahudin Kurt, 82, Bosnian folk singer
* Major Short, 93, American double bass player 31 – Frode Viken, 63, Norwegian rock guitarist

April

1
* Audrey Morris, 89, American jazz singer
* Ron Shaw, 77, American folk singer, guitarist and banjoist
3 – Lill-Babs, 80, Swedish pop singer
4 – Don Cherry, 94, American pop singer
5 – Cecil Taylor, 89, American jazz pianist
6 – Jacques Higelin, 77, French chanson singer
8 – Nathan Davis, 81, American jazz multi-instrumentalist
9 – Timmy Matley, 36, Irish pop singer
10 – Yvonne Staples, 80, American soul singer
14 – Milan Škampa, 89, Czech classical violist
16 – Dona Ivone Lara, 97, Brazilian samba singer
17
* Randy Scruggs, 64, American country guitarist and songwriter
* Big Tom, 81, Irish country singer
19
* Stuart Colman, 73, English musician, record producer, and broadcaster
* Reginald McArthur, 63, American R&B singer
20
* Avicii, 28, Swedish EDM DJ and producer
* Brian Henry Hooper, 55, Australian alternative rock guitarist 23 – Bob Dorough, 94, American jazz singer and pianist24 – Paul Gray, 54, Australian new wave singer, songwriter and keyboardist 26 – Charles Neville, 79, American R&B saxophonist 29
* Ted Devoux, 55, American rapper
* Rose Laurens, 65, French pop singer-songwriter
30 – Tim Calvert, 52, American heavy metal guitarist

May

* John "Jabo" Starks, 80, American funk and R&B drummer
* Wanda Wiłkomirska, 89, Polish classical violinist2 – Tony Cucchiara, 80, Italian folk singer4
* Steve Coy, 56, British new wave drummer
* Tony Kinman, American cowpunk singer and bassist
* Abi Ofarim, 80, Israeli pop singer5 – Dick Williams, 91, American pop singer 7 – Gayle Shepherd, 81, American pop singer 9
* Sammy Allred, 84, American country music singer and mandolinist
* Ben Graves, 46, American horror punk drummer
* Carl Perkins, 59, New Zealand reggae singer
* Shirley Thomas, 74, American pop singer 10 – Scott Hutchison, 36, British indie singer, songwriter and guitarist 11 – Matt Marks, 38, American contemporary classical multi-instrumentalist 13 – Glenn Branca, 69, American avant-garde composer and guitarist 16 – Hideki Saijo, 63, Japanese pop singer17
* Jürgen Marcus, 69, German schlager singer
* Jon Sholle, 70, American jazz, roots music and blues multi-instrumentalist19
* Reggie Lucas, 65, American multi-genre guitarist, producer and songwriter
* Patricia Morison, 103, American showtunes singer and actress25 – Piet Kee, 90, Dutch classical organist27 – Andy MacQueen, Australian punk guitarist 28
* Evio Di Marzo, 64, Venezuelan tropical singer and guitarist
* Stewart Lupton, 43, American indie rock singer
* Josh Martin, 46, American grindcore guitarist 31 – Demba Nabé, 46, German dancehall rapper

June

* Andrew Massey, 72, British classical conductor
* Sinan Sakić, 61, Serbian turbo-folk singer 2 – Wayne Secrest, 68, American bassist 3 – Clarence Fountain, 88, American gospel singer 4 – Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, 73, American spoken word poet 5
* Jimmy Gonzalez, 67, American Tejano singer
* Ralph Santolla, 51, American metal guitarist 6 – Teddy Johnson, 98, British pop singer 7 – Al Capps, 79, American arranger, composer and record producer8 – Danny Kirwan, 68, British rock and blues guitarist 9 – John McElrath, 77, American rock singer and keyboardist 10
* Neal E. Boyd, 42, American operatic pop singer
* Ras Kimono, 60, Nigerian reggae singer11 – Wayne Dockery, 76, American jazz bassist12 – Jon Hiseman, 73, British jazz fusion and blues drummer 13 – D. J. Fontana, 87, American rock and roll drummer 15
* Delia Bell, 83, American bluegrass singer
* Nick Knox, 60, American psychobilly drummer
* Matt Murphy, 88, American blues guitarist 16 – Rebecca Parris, 66, American jazz singer18
* Jimmy Wopo, 21, American rapper
* XXXTentacion, 20, American rapper19
* Bansi Quinteros, 41, Spanish psychedelic trance keyboardist
* Lowrell Simon, 75, American singer 21 – David Corcoran, 64, American rock drummer 22
* Geoffrey Oryema, 65, Ugandan afro-pop singer and guitarist
* Vinnie Paul, 54, American metal drummer 24
* George Cameron, 70, American baroque pop drummer
* Dan Ingram, 83, radio DJ26
* Fedor Frešo, 71, Slovak rock bassist
* Ed Simons, 101, American classical music conductor27 – Steve Soto, 54, American punk rock bassist 29 – Eugene Pitt, 80, American doo wop singer 30
*Smoke Dawg, 21, Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter
*Dean Webb, 81, American bluegrass mandolinist

July

* Henry Butler, 69, American jazz pianist
* Alan Longmuir, 70, Scottish pop bassist
* Bill Watrous, 79, American jazz trombonist3 – Richard Swift, 41, American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist 4 – Carmen Campagne, 58, Canadian folk singer6
* Vlatko Ilievski, 33, Macedonian rock singer and guitarist
* Vince Martin, 81, American folk singer7
* Brett Hoffmann, 51, American death metal singer
* Garry Lowe, 65, Jamaican-born Canadian reggae and blues rock musician 8 – Tab Hunter, 86, American pop singer9 – Stefan Demert, 78, Swedish pop singer10 – Ye Lwin, 70, Burmese rock guitarist13 – K. Rani, 75, Indian playback singer15 – Theryl DeClouet, 66, American jazz-funk and R&B singer 18 – Raivo Rätte, 48, Estonian alternative rock bassist 25 – Patrick Williams, 79, American composer, arranger and conductor27 – Mark Shelton, 60, American heavy metal guitarist 28 – Olga Jackowska, 67, Polish rock singer 29
* Sam Mehran, 31, British dance-punk singer and guitarist
* Tomasz Stańko, 76, Polish jazz trumpeter and composer31 – Irvin Jarrett, 69, Jamaican reggae percussionist

August

* Ted LeGarde, 87, Australian country music singer and guitarist
* Celeste Rodrigues, 95, Portuguese fado singer
* Umbayee, 67, Indian ghazal singer2 – Neil Argo, 71, American film and television composer3
* Brad Daymond, 48, Canadian house DJ
* Tommy Peoples, 70, Irish folk fiddler 4 – Lorrie Collins, 76, American rockabilly singer and guitarist 5
* Majid Al-Majid, 52, Saudi folk singer
* Ellen Joyce Loo, 32, Canadian-born Hong Kong folktronica singer and guitarist 8 – Linda Mkhize, 37, South African rapper9 – Arthur Davies, 77, Welsh opera singer10 – Jason "J-Sin" Luttrell, 40, American nu-metal vocalist 14
* Jill Janus, 42, American heavy metal singer
* Valentina Levko, 92, Russian opera singer
* Randy Rampage, 58, Canadian thrash metal and punk singer and bassist 16
* Aretha Franklin, 76, American R&B and soul singer
* Count Prince Miller, 84, Jamaican-born British singer 17
* Claudio Lolli, 68, Italian pop singer
* Danny Pearson, 65, American R&B singer20 – Eddie Willis, 82, American soul and R&B guitarist 21 – Spencer P. Jones, 61, Australian punk singer and guitarist 22
* Ed King, 68, American rock guitarist
* Lazy Lester, 85, American blues singer and guitarist24 – DJ Ready Red, 53, American hip hop DJ 25 – Kyle Pavone, 28, American metalcore singer 26 – Inge Borkh, 97, German opera singer29
* Tony Camillo, 90, American record producer and arranger
* Ellie Mannette, 90, Trinidadian steelpan drummer30 – Joseph Kobzon, 80, Russian pop singer

September

1 – Randy Weston, 92, American jazz pianist2 – Conway Savage, 58, Australian alternative rock keyboardist 4 – Don Gardner, 87, American R&B singer-songwriter7

* Don McGuire, 86, American pop singer
* Mac Miller, 26, American rapper8 – Chelsi Smith, 45, American pop singer10
* Paul Curcio, 74, American rock guitarist and record producer
* Johnny Strike, 70, American punk singer and guitarist 12 – Rachid Taha, 59, Algerian rock singer 14 – Max Bennett, 90, American jazz and pop bassist 15 – Helen Clare, 101, British soprano singer16
* Maartin Allcock, 61, British folk multi-instrumentalist
* Big Jay McNeely, 91, American R&B saxophonist18 – Wesley Tinglin, 75, Jamaican reggae singer 22 – Chas Hodges, 74, British folk singer and keyboardist 24 – Richard Parker, 81, American doo-wop singer 25 – Paul Dillon, 75, American rock drummer 27 – Marty Balin, 76, American psychedelic rock singer and guitarist 29
* Otis Rush, 84, American blues singer and guitarist
* Michael Weiley, 58, Australian ska guitarist 30 – Kim Larsen, 72, Danish rock singer and guitarist

October

* Charles Aznavour, 94, French pop singer
* Jerry González, 69, American Latin jazz trumpeter3
* Hugo Raspoet, 77, Belgian folk singer
* John Von Ohlen, 77, American jazz drummer 4 – Hamiet Bluiett, 78, American jazz saxophonist 5 – Bernadette Carroll, 74, American pop singer 6 – Montserrat Caballé, 85, Spanish opera singer7 – John Wicks, 65, British power pop singer and guitarist 8 – Tim Chandler, 58, American Christian alternative rock bassist 10 – Jane Walker, New Zealand new wave keyboardist 12 – Andy Goessling, 59, American progressive bluegrass multi-instrumentalist 14 – Saleem Abdul Majid, 57, Malaysian rock singer 16 – Du Yuwei, 19, Chinese pop singer 17
* Valters Frīdenbergs, 30, Latvian pop singer
* Oli Herbert, 44, American metalcore guitarist 18
*Ayub Bachchu, 56, Bangladeshi rock singer and guitarist
* Sergey Bondarenko, 31, Ukrainian pop rock singer
*Randolph Hokanson, 103, American classical pianist23 – Mighty Shadow, 77, Trinidadian calypsonian24
* Hip Hop Pantsula, 38, South African rapper
* Wah Wah Watson, 67, American R&B and funk guitarist
* Tony Joe White, 75, American swamp rock singer, songwriter and guitarist25 – Sonny Fortune, 79, American jazz saxophonist26 – Baba Oje, 87, American rapper and musician 27
* Freddie Hart, 91, American country and gospel singer
* Teddy Scott, 82, American R&B singer
* Todd Youth, 47, American punk rock guitarist 28 – Babs Beverley, 91, British pop singer 29
* Jimmy Farrar, 67, American southern rock singer
* Young Greatness, 34, American rapper30
* Hardy Fox, 73, American avant garde multi-instrumentalist and composer
* Beverly McClellan, 49, American blues and folk singer31 – Kenny Marks, 67, American contemporary Christian singer

November

* Thomas Diaz, 32, American emo singer and musician
* Dave Rowland, 74, American country singer 2
*Josh Fauver, 39, American indie rock bassist
* Roy Hargrove, 49, American jazz trumpeter
* Glenn Schwartz, 78, American rock and blues guitarist 3
* Mark Fosson, American primitive guitarist
* Maria Guinot, 73, Portuguese pop singer6 – Hugh McDowell, 65, British progressive rock cellist 7
* Scott Herrick, American pop singer
* Francis Lai, 86, French film composer13 – Lucho Gatica, 93, Chilean bolero singer15
* Roy Clark, 85, American country singer
* Ivan Smirnov, 63, Russian jazz fusion guitarist16
* Al James, 72, British rock guitarist
* Norris Weir, 72, Jamaican ska singer 17 – Cyril Pahinui, 68, American Hawaiian music guitarist20
* Roy Bailey, 83, British folk singer, songwriter and guitarist
* Trevor McNaughton, 77, Jamaican reggae singer 21 – Devin Lima, 41, American pop singer 22 – Imrat Khan, 83, Indian classical sitarist27 – Johnny Maddox, 91, American ragtime pianist28
* Gary Haisman, 60, British hip house singer
* Roger Neumann, 77, American jazz saxophonist29 – Erik Lindmark, 46, American technical death metal singer and guitarist

December

* Calvin Newborn, 85, American jazz guitarist
* Jody Williams, 83, American blues guitarist2 – Perry Robinson, 80, American jazz clarinetist6
* Ace Cannon, 84, American pop saxophonist
* Pete Shelley, 63, British punk singer, songwriter and guitarist 7
* The Mascara Snake, 70, American avant-garde clarinetist
* Lucas Starr, 34, American metalcore and Christian rock bassist 9 – Yigal Bashan, 68, Israeli pop singer10 – Fred Wieland, 75, Australian rock guitarist 11 – Angelo Conti, 62, Italian punk singer 13 – Nancy Wilson, 81, American jazz singer14
*Vida Chenoweth, 90, American classical marimbist and ethnomusicologist
*Joe Osborn, 81, American rock bassist 15
*Arthur Maia, 56, Brazilian jazz and samba bassist and composer
*Jerry Chesnut, 87, American country singer and songwriter17 – Galt MacDermot, 89, Canadian-American composer and pianist21 – Dipali Barthakur, 77, Indian folk singer22
* Indonesian musicians, members of the pop rock band Seventeen
** Windu Andi Darmawan, drummer
** Muhammad Awal Purbani, bassist
** Herman Sikumbang, guitarist
* Jimmy Work, 94, American country singer-songwriter23 – Honey Lantree, 75, British pop drummer and singer 24
* Jerry Riopelle, 77, American pop singer-songwriter and keyboardist
* Jaime Torres, Argentine folk charango player
* James Calvin Wilsey, 61, American rock guitarist 25 – Guto Barros, 61, Brazilian rock guitarist 26 – Theodore Antoniou, 83, Greek classical music composer and conductor27 – Miúcha, 81, Brazilian bossa nova singer28 – Christine McGuire, 92, American pop singer 29 – Aldo Parisot, 100, Brazilian-born American classical music cellist30 – Mike Taylor, Canadian indie pop keyboardist
31
* Dean Ford, 72, Scottish pop and rock singer-songwriter
* Ray Sawyer, 81, American rock singer and percussionist