2025 in music

This topic covers events and articles related to 2025 in music.

Specific locations

Specific genres

Bands formed

Bands reformed

Bands disbanded

Bands on hiatus

Deaths

January

* Leo Dan, 82, Argentine singer-songwriter
* Jean-Michel Defaye, 92, French classical pianist, composer, arranger and conductor
* Chad Morgan, 91, Australian country singer and guitarist
* Nora Orlandi, 91, Italian classical pianist, violinist, singer and film composer
* Wayne Osmond, 73, American pop singer 2
* Wilhelm Brückner, 92, German luthier
* Russ North, 59, English heavy metal singer
* Ferdi Tayfur, 79, Turkish classical singer and multi-instrumentalist3
* Willem van Kooten, 83, Dutch radio DJ
* Peter Schaap, 78, Dutch levenslied singer
* Brenton Wood, 83, American soul singer4
* Ed Askew, 84, American folk singer-songwriter
* Dylan Thomas More, American industrial rock sampler and programmer 5
* Beej Chaney, 68, American punk and new wave singer-songwriter
* Fredrik Lindgren, 53, Swedish heavy metal guitarist 6
* Hope Foye, 103, American folk singer
* Stella Greka, 102, Greek pop singer7
* Ayla Erduran, 90, Turkish classical violinist
* Peter Yarrow, 86, American folk singer-songwriter 9
* Laurie Holloway, 86, English jazz pianist, television musical director, and composer.
* P. Jayachandran, 80, Indian playback singer.
* Doc Shebeleza, 51, South African kwaito singer 10 – Sam Moore, 89, American soul singer-songwriter 11
* Mario Klemens, 88, Czech classical conductor
* Fereydoon Shahbazyan, 82, Iranian classical composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist12 – Mark Izu, 70, American jazz double bass player and composer13
* P. Fluid, 64, American funk metal singer
* Elgar Howarth, 89, English classical conductor, composer and trumpeter
* Buck White, 94, American country and bluegrass singer and mandolinist 14 – Teddy Osei, 87, Ghanaian jazz rock saxophonist 15
* Tommy Dix, 101, American musical theater singer
* Melba Montgomery, 86, American country singer-songwriter.
* Linda Nolan, 65, Irish pop singer 17 – Stéphane Venne, 83, Canadian pop singer-songwriter, arranger and producer18 – Claire van Kampen, 71, English theater composer 20
* Bob Kuban, 84, American R&B drummer
* John Sykes, 65, English hard rock guitarist 21
* Elliot Ingber, 83, American psychedelic rock guitarist.
* Garth Hudson, 87, Canadian rock multi-instrumentalist 22
* Paddy Cole, 85, Irish showband saxophonist
* Barry Goldberg, 83, American blues and rock keyboardist
* Johan Slager, 78, Dutch progressive rock guitarist
* Gabriel Yacoub, 72, French folk singer 24 – Unk, 43, American rapper25 – Edweena Banger, British punk rock singer 26
* Kazuyoshi Akiyama, 84, Japanese classical conductor
* Betsy Arakawa, 65, American classical pianist
* Gary Grier, American R&B singer 27
* Emilia Contessa, 67, Indonesian dangdut and pop singer
* Aaron Rossi, 44, American industrial metal drummer 29 – Bruce Howe, 77, Australian progressive rock bassist and singer 30
* Marianne Faithfull, 78, English pop and rock singer-songwriter
* İlhan Usmanbaş, 104, Turkish contemporary classical composer31 – Susan Alcorn, 71–72, American avant garde composer and pedal steel guitarist

February

* Peter Bassano, 79–80, English classical trombonist and conductor
* André Ducret, 79, Swiss classical singer and composer
* Sal Maida, 76, American rock bassist
* Peter Schmidl, 84, Austrian classical clarinetist2
* Gene Barge, 98, American rock and roll saxophonist
* Barbie Hsu, 48, Taiwanese pop singer
* Patricia Johnson, 95, English opera singer
* Stéphane Picq, 59, French video game music composer
* Paul Plishka, 83, American opera singer4
* Bob Bennett, American garage rock drummer
* Ana María Iriarte, 98, Spanish opera singer
* Wily Mignon, 38, Beninese pop singer5
* Irv Gotti, 54, American record producer and executive
* Dave Jerden, 75, American record producer, audio engineer and mixer
* Hans-Peter Lehmann, 90, German opera director
* Mike Ratledge, 81, British psychedelic rock keyboardist 6 – Bobby Hamilton, American R&B singer 7
* Naâman, 34, French reggae singer
* Song Dae-kwan, 78, South Korean trot singer8 – Corey Crewe, 80, Canadian comedic music singer 9 – Edith Mathis, 86, Swiss opera singer10 – Maria Tipo, 93, Italian classical pianist12
* Tommy Hunt, 91, American soul singer
* Jimi Mbaye, 67, Senegalese mbalax guitarist13 – Sukri Bommagowda, 88, Indian folk singer16 – Vladimír Válek, 89, Czech classical conductor 17
* Rick Buckler, 69, English new wave drummer
* Jamie Muir, 82, Scottish progressive rock percussionist
*Paquita la del Barrio, 77, Mexican pop singer19
* Karl Cochran, American rock guitarist
* Snowy Fleet, 79, English-born Australian rock drummer
* Jean Sarrus, 79, French comedy rock singer 20
* Gerry Arling, 63, Dutch electronic multi-instrumentalist
* Jerry Butler, 85, American soul singer-songwriter
* Ilkka Kuusisto, 91, Finnish opera composer, conductor, choirmaster, and organist21
* Fred Bekky, 81, Belgian rock singer and guitarist
* Bill Fay, 81, English folk rock singer-songwriter
* Khalil Fong, 41, Hong Kong mandopop singer-songwriter
* Gwen McCrae, 81, American soul and disco singer 22
* Ken Parker, 76, Jamaican reggae singer
* Gianni Pettenati, 79, Italian pop rock singer23
* Jacques de Jongh, Australian glam rock guitarist and bassist
* Chris Jasper, 73, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboardist 24
* Roberta Flack, 88, American soul and jazz singer-songwriter and keyboardist
* Robert John, 79, American soft rock singer-songwriter
* Ricardo Kanji, 76, Brazilian classical flautist25
* Simon Lindley, 76, English classical organist, choirmaster, conductor and composer
* Coburn Pharr, 62, Canadian thrash metal singer
* Ferenc Rados, 90, Hungarian classical pianist28 – David Johansen, 75, American rock singer-songwriter

March

* Joey Molland, 77, English power pop guitarist and songwriter
* Paulito FG, 63, Cuban salsa and timba singer
* Bill Smith, Scottish folk singer
* Angie Stone, 63, American neo-soul singer-songwriter and rapper 2
* Edip Akbayram, 74, Turkish folk and rock singer-songwriter
* Herbert Léonard, 80, French pop singer
* Frank Maher, 90, Canadian folk accordionist3
* Geraint Jarman, 74, Welsh rock singer-songwriter
* Jean-Marie Londeix, 92, French classical saxophonist
* Jeffrey Runnings, 61, American post-punk singer-songwriter and bassist
* Bob Rupe, 68, American alternative rock bassist 4
* Roy Ayers, 84, American jazz singer, vibraphonist, keyboardist and record producer
* Harry Elston, 86, American soul singer
* Mario Trabucco, 73, Italian classical violinist5
* Edesio Alejandro, 66, Cuban film composer
* Randy Brown, 72, American R&B singer
* DJ Funk, 53, American ghetto house DJ 6
* Brian James, 70, English punk rock guitarist and songwriter
* Troy Seals, 86, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist7
* Danny Cox, 81, American folk rock singer-songwriter
* D'Wayne Wiggins, 64, American R&B singer and guitarist 8
* Bill Ashton, 88, British jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer
* Beau Dozier, 45, American R&B and hip hop songwriter and record producer
* Donald Hazelwood, 95, Australian classical violinist
* Harbans Jandu, Indian lyricist
* Naima Samih, 71, Moroccan khaliji singer10
* Stedman Pearson, 60, British pop singer
* Wheesung, 43, South Korean R&B singer 11
* Cocoa Tea, 65, Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter
* Bob Rivers, 68, American radio personality and parody musician13
* Sofia Gubaidulina, 93, Soviet/Russian composer of modernist and modernist/sacred music
* Mark Holder, 52, American blues guitarist
* Yallunder, 30, South African afro-soul singer-songwriter14 – Bruno Romani, 65, Italian jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer15 – Les Binks, 73, Northern Irish heavy metal drummer 16
* Dandy Bestia, 72, Italian comedy punk guitarist
* Rob de Nijs, 82, Dutch pop singer
* Andrej Gjorgieski, Macedonian hip hop singer
* Jesse Colin Young, 83, American folk rock singer-songwriter 17
* AnNa R., 55, German pop singer
* Peter Farrelly, 76, Northern Irish progressive rock bassist and singer
* Aurelio Martínez, 55, Honduran garifuna singer and guitarist18 – Bedros Kirkorov, 92, Bulgarian-Russian pop singer20
* Eddie Adcock, 86, American bluegrass banjo player
* Oleg Baranov, 57, Russian alternative rock guitarist
* Leanne Cowie, Australian garage rock drummer 21 – Larry Tamblyn, 82, American garage rock singer and keyboardist 22
* Andy Peebles, 76, English radio DJ
* Paul Wagstaff, British alternative dance guitarist 23 – Kevan Staples, 74, Canadian alternative rock guitarist and singer 24
* Alan Cuckston, 85, English classical harpsichordist
* Huey Williams, 86, American gospel singer 25
* Tapani Kansa, 76, Finnish pop singer
* Sanjida Khatun, 91, Bangladeshi musicologist
* Terry Manning, 77, American recording engineer and producer
* Alice Tan Ridley, 72, American gospel and R&B singer26
* Shushama Das, 94, Bangladeshi folk singer
* Tommy Rey, 80, Chilean cumbia singer 28 – Young Scooter, 39, American rapper29
* Richard Chamberlain, 90, American pop singer
* Dick Damron, 91, Canadian country singer-songwriter
* Tracy Schwarz, 86, American old-time singer 30
* Enrique Bátiz, 82, Mexican classical conductor and pianist
* Marinko Colnago, 83, Croatian pop singer 31
* J Nyi Nyi, 71, Burmese pop singer
* Volkan Konak, 58, Turkish folk singer
* John Nelson, 83, American classical conductor

April

1
* George Freeman, 97, American jazz guitarist
* Wayne Handy, 89, American rock and roll singer
* Michael Hurley, 83, American folk singer-songwriter
* Alfi Kabiljo, 89, Croatian classical composer
* Johnny Tillotson, 86, American country singer-songwriter4 – Amadou Bagayoko, 70, Malian worldbeat singer and guitarist 5
* Dave Allen, 69, English post-punk bassist
* Pasha Technique, 40, Russian rapper6
* Al Barile, 63, American hardcore punk guitarist
* Clem Burke, 70, American new wave drummer
* Roberto De Simone, 91, Italian composer and musicologist
* Anna Slováčková, 29, Czech pop singer
* Pongsri Woranuch, 85, Thai luk thung singer
7 – William Finn, 73, American composer and lyricist
8
* Rubby Pérez, 69, Dominican merengue singer
* Lenny Welch, 86, American pop singer
9
* Roberto Cani, 57, Italian classical violinist
* Terje Venaas, 78, Norwegian jazz bassist
10
* Niklas Eklund, 56, Swedish classical trumpeter
* Titiek Puspa, 87, Indonesian pop singer-songwriter
* Nino Tempo, 90, American pop singer and saxophonist
* Drew Zingg, 68, American rock guitarist
11
* Mike Berry, 82, English pop singer
* Max Romeo, 80, Jamaican reggae singer
12
* Roy Thomas Baker, 78, English record producer
* Pilita Corrales, 85, Filipino pop singer
14
* Jed the Fish, 69, American radio DJ
* Peter Seiffert, 71, German opera singer
16
* Nora Aunor, 71, Filipino pop singer
* Colin Berry, 79, British radio DJ
* Mac Gayden, 83, American rock and country singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Joel Krosnick, 84, American classical cellist 17
* Peter Ablinger, 66, Austrian classical composer
* Nuno Guerreiro, 52, Portuguese pop singer
* Roger McLachlan, 71, New Zealand pop rock bassist 18 – Clodagh Rodgers, 78, Northern Irish pop singer19 – Ricky Siahaan, 48, Indonesian heavy metal guitarist 20
* Cristina Buarque, 74, Brazilian samba singer and composer
* Kimble Rendall, 67–68, Australian post-punk and alternative rock singer and guitarist 21 – Hajji Alejandro, 70, Filipino pop singer22
* David Briggs, 82, American rock and country keyboardist
* Odd Magne Gridseth, 65, Norwegian jazz bassist23
* Lulu Roman, 78, American country and southern gospel singer
* David Thomas, 71, American rock singer-songwriter 24
* Peter McIan, American rock keyboardist and record producer
* Roy Phillips, 83, British jazz pop singer and keyboardist 25 – Richard Wernick, 91, American classical composer26
* Charles Beare, 87, British luthier and violin expert
* Andy Bey, 85, American jazz singer and pianist27 – Wizz Jones, 86, English folk singer-songwriter and guitarist28
* Brian Montana, 60, American death metal guitarist
* Mike Peters, 66, Welsh alternative rock singer-songwriter 29 – Christfried Schmidt, 92, German classical composer and arranger30
* Kari Løvaas, 85, Norwegian opera singer
* Joe Louis Walker, 75, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist

May

* Nana Caymmi, 84, Brazilian MPB singer
* Jill Sobule, 66, American folk and alternative rock singer-songwriter2 – Karel Bláha, 77, Czech opera singer5
* May Abrahamse, 94, South African opera singer
* James Baker, 71, Australian rock drummer
* Nathan Jerde, American garage rock drummer
* Squire Parsons, 77, American Southern gospel singer-songwriter6
* Luigi Lopez, 77, Italian pop singer-songwriter
* Vakhtang Machavariani, 74, Georgian classical composer and conductor7 – Ronald Corp, 74, British classical composer and conductor8 – Xatar, 43, Kurdish-German rapper9
* Stewart Francke, 66, American pop singer-songwriter
* Johnny Rodriguez, 73, American country singer10
* Matthew Best, 68, British choral singer and conductor
* Larry Lee, 78, American country rock multi-instrumentalist
* Kafon, 41–42, Tunisian rapper11
* John Edwards, 80, American R&B singer
* Leila Negra, 95, German pop singer
* Alena Veselá, 101, Czech classical organist and musical teacher12
* Ernst Mahle, 96, German-Brazilian orchestra composer and conductor
* Yasunao Tone, 90, Japanese jazz composer and sound artist13 – Billy Earheart, 71, American country keyboardist 14 – Dale Henderson, 59, American thrash metal singer 15
* Luigi Alva, 98, Peruvian opera singer
* Junior Byles, 77, Jamaican reggae singer
* Terry Draper, 73, Canadian progressive rock singer-songwriter and drummer
* Charles Strouse, 96, American musical theater composer and lyricist16 – Jadwiga Rappé, 73, Polish opera singer17
* Rodney Brown, 78, American funk drummer
* Roger Nichols, 84, American pop songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist
* Werenoi, 31, French rapper19
* Heorhiy Gina, 93, Ukrainian classical composer, conductor, and violinst
* Chris Hager, 67, American glam metal guitarist
* Adam Ramey, 31, American nu metal singer 20
* Mark Greene, American R&B singer
* Michael B. Tretow, 80, Swedish record producer, sound engineer and composer
* Frank Gibson Jr., 79, New Zealand jazz drummer22
* James Lowe, 82, American psychedelic rock singer
* Dave Shapiro, 42, American music agent
* Dan Storper, 74, American record label executive
* Daniel Williams, American metalcore drummer 23 – Lillian Boutté, 75, American jazz singer24 – Kenny Marco, 78, Canadian rock guitarist 25
* Simon House, 76, English progressive rock keyboardist and violinist
* Michael Sumler, 71, American choreographer and stylist
* Foday Musa Suso, 75, Gambian mandé singer and kora player26
* Gigi Canu, 66, Italian electronic dance guitarist
* Rick Derringer, 77, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist 27
* Freddie Aguilar, 72, Filipino pop singer-songwriter
* Brian Kellock, 62, Scottish jazz pianist
* Irianti Erningpraja, 59, Indonesian pop singer-songwriter28
* Al Foster, 82, American jazz drummer
* Per Nørgård, 92, Danish classical composer and music theorist29
* Alf Clausen, 84, American television composer
* Susann McDonald, 90, American classical harpist
* Charles Wadsworth, 96, American classical pianist30 – Renée Victor, 86, American pop singer31 – Marcie Jones, 79, Australian pop singer

June

* Aharon Amram, 91, Yemeni-born Israeli traditional music singer and composer
* Monica Nielsen, 87, Swedish pop singer2
* Nicole David, 51, Saint Lucian soca singer
* Colin Jerwood, 63, English anarcho-punk singer 3 – Eugen Doga, 88, Moldovan film and theatre composer4
* Nicole Croisille, 88, French pop singer
* Arthur Hamilton, 98, American pop songwriter
* Frankie Jordan, 86, French rock and roll singer
* Raymond Warren, 96, British classical composer5
* Bob Andrews, 75, English new wave keyboardist
* Anatoly Gunitsky, 71, Russian rock lyricist
* Norman Hutchins, 62, American gospel singer-songwriter
* Wayne Lewis, 68, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboardist 6 – Mike Ejeagha, 95, Nigerian folk singer and guitarist8 – Ariel Kalma, 78, French new age composer 9
* Axel Skalstad, 32, Norwegian jazz drummer
* Sly Stone, 82, American funk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist 10 – Don Moore, 86, American jazz bassist.11
* Douglas McCarthy, 58, English EBM singer-songwriter
* Brian Wilson, 82, American pop rock singer-songwriter, bassist and keyboardist 13
* Louis Moholo, 85, South African jazz drummer
* Honest John Plain, 73, English punk rock guitarist and singer 14
* Bira Presidente, 88, Brazilian samba singer-songwriter and percussionist
* Kollangudi Karuppayee, 99, Indian folk singer
* Steven Leckie, 67, Canadian punk rock singer
* Cocoy Laurel, 71, Filipino pop singer and pianist15
* Petroloukas Chalkias, 90, Greek traditional music clarinettist.
* Sven-Åke Johansson, 81–82, Swedish free jazz drummer and composer
* Masuiyama Daishirō II, 76, Japanese enka singer
* Barry Vercoe, 87, New Zealand jazz and electronic composer16
* Hélio Delmiro, 78, Brazilian jazz guitarist
* Patti Drew, 80, American R&B singer
* John Reid, 61, Scottish acid jazz singer-songwriter 17
* Alfred Brendel, 94, Czech-born Austrian classical pianist
* Charles Burrell, 104, American classical and jazz bassist18 – Lou Christie, 82, American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter19
* Geirr Lystrup, 76, Norwegian visa singer
* James Prime, 64, Scottish pop rock keyboardist
* Ron Woodbridge, 87, English pop rock singer
* Cavin Yarbrough, 72, American R&B singer 20
* David L. Hamilton, 74, American progressive rock keyboardist and composer
* Patrick Walden, 46, English indie rock guitarist 23
* Rebekah Del Rio, 57, American pop singer-songwriter
* Feya Faku, 63, South African jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist
* Yuriy Parfyonov, 79, Russian jazz and alternative rock trumpeter
* Mick Ralphs, 81, English rock guitarist and songwriter 24
* Serge Fiori, 73, Canadian progressive rock singer and guitarist
* Bobby Sherman, 81, American pop singer26
* Ocasional Talento, 29, Bolivian rapper
* Lalo Schifrin, 93, Argentine-born American film and television composer
* Walter Scott, 81, American R&B singer 27 – Derek A. E. Fuhrmann, 44, American rock singer-songwriter 29 – Stuart Burrows, 92, Welsh opera singer

July

* Brendan Berg, 42, Canadian indie pop bassist
* Hamdan ATT, 79, Indonesian dangdut singer
* Jimmy Swaggart, 90, American gospel singer2 – Verka Siderova, 99, Bulgarian folk singer3 – Dany Lademacher, 75, Belgian rock guitarist 4
* Luís Jardim, 75, Portuguese pop rock percussionist and bassist
* Mark Snow, 78, American film and television composer
* Young Noble, 47, American rapper 7 – Mosie Burks, 92, American gospel singer 8 – Tim Cronin, 63, American stoner rock drummer 9 – Ihor Poklad, 83, Ukrainian composer11
* Toni Cruz, 78, Spanish pop singer
* Raymond Guiot, 94, French classical and jazz flutist, pianist and composer
* David Kaff, 79, British rock keyboardist
* Iris Williams, 79, Welsh jazz singer 13 – Dave Cousins, 85, English folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist 14 – Matt Keil, Canadian hardcore punk bassist 15 – Billy April, 61, British dance producer and remixer 16
* Chris Faiumu, New Zealand reggae dub percussionist
* Connie Francis, 87, American pop singer
* Gary Karr, 83, American classical bassist
* Eero Raittinen, 80, Finnish pop rock singer 17
* Alan Bergman, 99, American pop composer and songwriter
* Robbie Pardlo, 46, American R&B singer-songwriter
* Daphne Walker, 94, New Zealand pop singer18
* Helen Cornelius, 83, American country singer-songwriter
* Roger Norrington, 91, British classical conductor19
* Frank Maffei, 85, American doo-wop singer
* Aldo Monges, 83, Argentine folk singer
* Rezeda Sharafieva, 59, Russian theater singer
* Rustem Suleymanov, 47, Russian classical violinist and conductor
* Béatrice Uria-Monzon, 61, French opera singer20
* Preta Gil, 50, Brazilian pop singer
* Owen Gray, 86, Jamaican ska and reggae singer
* Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 54, American jazz poet and bassist21
* Eamon Downes, 56, British breakbeat hardcore DJ
* David Rendall, 76, English opera singer22
* Chuck Mangione, 84, American smooth jazz flugelhornist
* Ozzy Osbourne, 76, English heavy metal singer-songwriter
* John Palmer, 82, English progressive rock multi-instrumentalist 23
* George Kooymans, 77, Dutch rock guitarist and songwriter
* George Veikoso, 55, Fijian ska and reggae singer-songwriter24
* Cleo Laine, 97, English jazz singer
* Amalia Macías, 91, Mexican ranchera singer
* Tommy McLain, 85, American swamp pop singer-songwriter26
* Tom Lehrer, 97, American comedy and satire singer-songwriter and pianist
* Daddy Lumba, 60, Ghanaian highlife singer-songwriter
* Jock McDonald, 69, Scottish punk rock singer
* Ziad Rahbani, 69, Lebanese composer and pianist27 – Celso Valli, 75, Italian record producer and composer28 – Rosita Velázquez, 74, Puerto Rican nueva trova singer 29
* Paul Mario Day, 69, English heavy metal singer
* Livio Macchia, 83, Italian pop singer and guitarist 31
* Jesto, 41, Italian rapper
* Flaco Jiménez, 86, American tejano singer-songwriter and accordionist
* Erik Wunder, 42, American black metal and folk rock multi-instrumentalist

August

* David Roach, 59, American heavy metal singer
* Jeannie Seely, 85, American country singer2 – Howie Tee, 61, English-born American hip-hop DJ and producer4
* Larry Gillstrom, 68, Canadian heavy metal guitarist
* Jane Morgan, 101, American pop singer
* Terry Reid, 75, English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist5
* Col Joye, 89, Australian rock and pop singer-songwriter
* Nancy King, 85, American jazz singer
* Lee Min, 47, South Korean R&B singer 6 – Eddie Palmieri, 88, American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader8
* Judy Bailey, 89, New Zealand-Australian jazz pianist
* Arlindo Cruz, 66, Brazilian samba singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Robert Jaramillo, 78, American rock singer 9 – NoB, 61, Japanese hard rock singer 10
* Graham Fenton, 76, English rockabilly singer
* Bobby Whitlock, 77, American rock singer-songwriter and keyboardist 11
* Celso Garrido Lecca, 99, Peruvian classical composer
* Chuck Girard, 81, American Christian rock singer and pianist
* Choo Hoey, 90, Singaporean classical violinist and conductor
* Sheila Jordan, 96, American jazz singer
* Gabi Novak, 89, Croatian pop singer12 – Cool John Ferguson, 71, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist13
* Rachid Ferhani, 80, Algerian Kabyle singer
* Mathias Grassow, 62, German ambient keyboardist
* Klaus Wirzenius, 37, Finnish rock singer and guitarist 14 – Roy Estrada, 82, American rock bassist 15
* Maria Krushelnytska, 90, Ukrainian classical pianist
* Jamshied Sharifi, 64, American classical composer and multi-instrumentalist16 – Joachim Grubich, 90, Polish classical organist17 – Joe Hickerson, 89, American folk singer18
* Aesop The Black Wolf, American rapper
* Banu Kırbağ, 74, Turkish pop singer19
* Michael Antunes, 85, American rock saxophonist
* Luz, 32, Japanese pop rock singer20
* Brent Hinds, 51, American metal singer and guitarist
* Frank Øren, 59, Norwegian a capella singer 21
* Salvador Aguilar, 56, Mexican rock singer
* Stanisław Sojka, 66, Polish jazz and pop singer, pianist and composer22
* Miguel Proença, 86, Brazilian classical pianist
* Yaroslav Yevdokimov, 78, Ukrainian-born Belarusian singer24 – Tom Shipley, 84, American folk rock singer-songwriter 25
* Igor Kalinauskas, 80, Russian new age singer
* Nisse Karlén, 50, Swedish melodic black metal singer and bassist
* Rogério Meanda, Brazilian rock guitarist 26
* Manuel de la Calva, 88, Spanish pop singer
* Mestre Damasceno, 71, Brazilian carimbó singer
* Tony Saletan, 94, American folk singer27
* Jürgen Bartsch, German extreme metal bassist and keyboardist
* Jim Kimball, 59, American punk and post-hardcore drummer 28
* Ray Mayhew, 59–60, British new wave drummer
* Gary Didier Perez, 59, Haitian compas singer-songwriter29
* Ex Tuuttiz, 36–37, Finnish rapper
* Gabriel Feltz, 54, German classical conductor
* Ema Hurskainen, 53, Finnish humppa drummer
* Eric Ozario, 76, Indian Konkani music composer
* Ahmad Pejman, 90, Iranian-American classical composer
* Rodion Shchedrin, 92, Russian opera composer and pianist
* Klaus Thunemann, 88, German classical bassoonist
* Taimo Toomast, 63, Estonian opera singer30
* Evgeny Levitan, 81, Russian classical pianist
* Juhani Markola, 83, Finnish pop singer31 – Diego de Morón, 78, Spanish flamenco guitarist

September

1 – Darmawan Hardjakusumah, 82, Indonesian pop singer 2 – Robert Franz, 57, Canadian classical conductor 3 – Ted Robert, 81, Swiss pop singer-songwriter4

* Yukio Hashi, 82, Japanese enka singer
* Robby Turner, 63, American pedal steel guitarist
* Pia Velsi, 101, Italian pop singer5
* Hooshmand Aghili, 88, Iranian pop and folk singer
* Bruce Loose, 66, American punk rock singer and bassist
* Ras Sheehama, 59, Namibian reggae singer
* Spencer Taylor Jr., 97, American gospel singer
* Mark Volman, 78, American rock singer 6
* Rick Davies, 81, English rock singer-songwriter and keyboardist
* Christoph von Dohnányi, 95, German classical conductor
* Atomic Steif, 57, German thrash metal drummer 7 – Allen Blickle, 42, American heavy metal drummer 8 – Angela Ro Ro, 75, Brazilian pop singer-songwriter9
* Allan Cole, 74, Jamaican songwriter
* Armando Santiago, 93, Portuguese-born Canadian classical composer and conductor10 – Bobby Hart, 86, American pop singer-songwriter 11
* Viv Prince, 84, English rock drummer
* Nicky Ryan, 79, Irish music producer13
* Stephen Luscombe, 70, British synth-pop keyboardist and songwriter
* Andreas Martin, 72, German schlager singer
* Farida Parveen, 70, Bangladeshi folk singer
* Hermeto Pascoal, 89, Brazilian jazz multi-instrumentalist15
* Joel Moss, 79, American music producer, engineer and mixer
* Omen, 49, American music producer16
* Tomas Lindberg, 52, Swedish death metal singer
* Michael Sutherland, Australian funk rock drummer 18
* Fausto Amodei, 91, Italian folk singer-songwriter and musicologist
* Brett James, 57, American country singer-songwriter and record producer
* Diane Martel, 63, American music video director and choreographer 19
* Sonny Curtis, 88, American rock and roll singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Chris Doheny, 64, Australian pop rock singer and guitarist
* Zubeen Garg, 52, Indian folk singer
* JD Twitch, 57, Scottish club DJ
* Mike Wofford, 87, American jazz pianist21
* Ron Carroll, 57, American club DJ
* Roland Pidoux, 78, French classical cellist and conductor23
* Dieter Kaufmann, 84, Austrian electroacoustic composer
* Josephine Keegan, 90, Scottish-Irish traditional music pianist, fiddler and composer
* Danny Thompson, 86, English folk rock bassist 25 – Chris Dreja, 79, English rock bass guitarist 26
* Christian, 82, Italian pop singer
* Jim McNeely, 76, American jazz composer, arranger and pianist27 – Franz Grundheber, 88, German opera singer29 – Vojislav Simić, 101, Serbian jazz composer and conductor30 – Pablo Guerrero, 78, Spanish jazz singer-songwriter

October

1 – Bohdan Bohach, 50, Ukrainian a cappella singer 2 – Chhannulal Mishra, 89, Indian Hindustani classical singer3 – Patricia Routledge, 96, English pop singer4 – Paul Van Bruystegem, 66, Belgian rock bassist 5 – Véronique Vincent, 68, French experimental rock singer 6

* Theo Jörgensmann, 77, German jazz clarinetist
* Ray's Kim Edm, 36, Chadian rapper7
* Halid Bešlić, 72, Bosnian folk singer
* Ian Freebairn-Smith, 93, American film and television composer
* Marta Jaciubek-McKeever, 45, Polish-Canadian synthpop and singer
* Speedy Sparks, 76, American country rock bassist 8
* Ace Finchum, 62, British metal drummer
* Rajvir Jawanda, 35, Indian Punjabi singer
* Terry "Buzzy" Johnson, 86, American R&B singer-songwriter
* Pierre Moutouari, 75, Congolese soukous singer
* Niyazi Sayın, 98, Turkish classical ney flautist and music educator9 – Fede Dorcaz, 29, Argentine pop singer10
* Bernhard Klee, 89, German classical conductor
* John Lodge, 82, English progressive rock bassist and singer-songwriter
* Thommy Price, 68, American rock drummer 11 – Ian Watkins, 48, Welsh rock singer 12
* Jody Henry, American metal bassist
* John Waterhouse, 75, British metal guitarist 13 – Matt Tolfrey, 44, English electronic DJ, record producer and label owner 14
* Richard Addrisi, 84, American pop singer and songwriter
* D'Angelo, 51, American neo-soul singer-songwriter16
* Chris Di Staulo, 34, Italian-Canadian music video director
* Klaus Doldinger, 89, German jazz saxophonist and composer
* Bob Franke, 78, American folk singer-songwriter
* Ace Frehley, 74, American rock guitarist and singer
* Jack White, 85, German music producer 17
* Alexandru Cazacu, 75, Moldovan rock guitarist
* Bernd Meinunger, 81, German lyricist18 – Sam Rivers, 48, American nu metal bassist 19
* Dave Burgess, 90, American rock and roll singer and saxophonist
* Anthony Jackson, 73, American jazz bassist
* Erik Rico, American R&B and house singer-songwriter 21
* Zdeněk Bláha, 95, Czech folk bagpiper
* Davey Langit, 38, Filipino pop singer-songwriter
* Achille Mouebo, 54, Congolese afrobeat singer-songwriter
* Dionysis Savvopoulos, 80, Greek pop singer-songwriter22 – David Ball, 66, English synthpop and house keyboardist 23
* Chris Turner, 74, Australian blues rock guitarist
* David Wilde, 90, English classical pianist24
* Marcie Free, 71, American heavy metal and rock singer
* Benita Valente, 91, American opera singer25
* Gérard Badini, 94, French jazz saxophonist
* Floria Márquez, 75, Venezuelan bolero singer
* Peace, American rapper 26 – Jack DeJohnette, 83, American jazz drummer, pianist and composer27 – Vivian Jones, 68, Jamaican-born British reggae singer28 – Richard Bonnot, 67, French comedy rock singer 29
* Andrew Metcalfe, English alternative rock singer
* James Senese, 80, Italian jazz saxophonist
* Gladys Stone Wright, 100, American band director30 – Scott Sorry, 47, American rock bassist 31 – Elżbieta Penderecka, 77, Polish music festival organiser.

November

* Ray Drummond, 78, American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader
* Archie Fisher, 86, Scottish folk singer-songwriter
* Young Bleed, 51, American rapper2
* Lô Borges, 73, Brazilian MPB singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Joseph Byrd, 87, American psychedelic rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and film composer
* Donna Jean Godchaux, 78, American rock singer
* Thomas Klein, 59, German speed metal guitarist
* Jim Self, 82, American tubist and film composer3 – Victor Conte, 75, American jazz bassist 4 – Robert Taylor, 74, New Zealand rock guitarist 5 – Gilson Lavis, 74, English new wave drummer 6
* Chris Bradley, British heavy metal bassist
* Pono, 49, Polish rapper
* Steve Whitaker, 62, American Christian metal drummer 10 – Richard Darbyshire, 65, English new wave singer-songwriter and guitarist 11
* Guido Di Leone, 61, Italian jazz guitarist
* Cleto Escobedo III, 59, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader
* Carmen Moreno, 99, Polish jazz singer12
* Muazzez Abacı, 78, Turkish classical singer
* Juraj Lexmann, 84, Slovak musicologist and liturgical composer
* Bereket Mengisteab, 86–87, Eritrean folk singer-songwriter and krar player
* Horia Moculescu, 88, Romanian classical pianist and composer.13
* Fosforito, 93, Spanish flamenco singer
* Donald McIntyre, 91, New Zealand opera singer14 – Todd Snider, 59, American folk and alternative country singer-songwriter15 – Hilly Michaels, 77, American new wave singer-songwriter and drummer 16 – Maxon Margiela, 21, American rapper17
* Alice and Ellen Kessler, 89, German pop singers
* Humane Sagar, 34, Indian Ollywood singer19
* Walt Aldridge, 70, American country singer-songwriter
* André Geraissati, 74, Brazilian jazz guitarist and composer20
* Jean-Claude Éloy, 87, French classical and electroacoustic composer
* Mani, 63, English alternative rock bassist 21
* Leon Bates, 76, American classical pianist
* Jean Guidoni, 74, French pop singer-songwriter
* Jellybean Johnson, 69, American funk drummer, songwriter, and record producer
* Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, 79, Irish folk singer and guitarist
* Ornella Vanoni, 91, Italian pop singer22
* Dino Nascimento, Brazilian post-punk bassist
* Dadou Pasquet, 72, Haitian compas singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Lesyk Sam, 58, Ukrainian pop singer 23
* Ian Lees, Australian pop rock bassist
* Phil Upchurch, 84, American jazz and blues guitarist and composer24 - Jimmy Cliff, 81, Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter25 – Biyouna, 73, Algerian pop rock singer26
*Judy Cheeks, 71, American soul singer
*Shpat Kasapi, 40, Albanian pop singer-songwriter27
* Peep Lassmann, 77, Estonian classical pianist
* Vasco Martins, 68–69, Cape Verdean classical and new age multi-instrumentalist29
* Leslie Fish, 72, American folk singer-songwriter
* Poorstacy, 26, American rapper and multi-instrumentalist
* Alonzo Saclag, 83, Filipino folk singer
* Bob "Bongo" Starkie, 73, Australian rock guitarist
* Chubby Tavares, 80, American R&B singer 30
* Dag Spantell, 75, Norwegian pop singer
* Warren Williams, 85, Australian rock musician

December

2 – Billy Nichols, 85, American soul guitarist and songwriter 3 – Steve Cropper, 84, American R&B guitarist, songwriter and record producer4

* Ted Egan, 93, Australian folk singer
* Budoy Marabiles, 54, Filipino reggae singer
* Pops Mohamed, 75, South African jazz multi-instrumentalist
* Tetsu Yamauchi, 79, Japanese rock bassist 5
* Herman Deinum, 79, Dutch blues rock bassist
* Sandro Giacobbe, 75, Italian pop singer-songwriter
* Camryn Magness, 26, American pop singer6
* Rafael Ithier, 99, Puerto Rican salsa pianist and bandleader.
* Jerry Kasenetz, 82, American music producer and songwriter
* Rory MacLeod, 70, American blues and swing bassist 7
* Anita Guerreiro, 89, Portuguese fado singer
* Peter McFarlane, 73, Australian hard rock drummer 8
* Gordon Goodwin, 70, American jazz pianist and saxophonist
* Raul Malo, 60, American country rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Yaya Moektio, 68, Indonesian hard rock drummer
* Jubilant Sykes, 71, American opera and multi-genre singer9
* Roberto Iniesta, 63, Spanish hard rock singer and guitarist
* Phil Vinall, English record producer and engineer 11 – Brent McLachlan, New Zealand shoegaze drummer 12
* Manny Guerra, 85, American tejano singer-songwriter and record producer
* Marilyn Mazur, 70, American-born Danish jazz percussionist
* Magda Umer, 76, Polish pop singer-songwriter13
* Anda-Louise Bogza, 60, Romanian opera singer
* Abraham Quintanilla, 86, American tejano singer-songwriter and record producer14 – Carl Carlton, 72, American R&B, funk and soul singer-songwriter15
* Joe Ely, 78, American alternative country singer-songwriter
* Thomas Johannes Mayer, 56, German opera singer
* Anna Rusticano, 71, Italian pop rock singer16 – DJ Warras, 40, South African radio and club DJ17 – Max Eider, British indie pop singer-songwriter and guitarist 20
* Lindomar Castilho, 85, Brazilian bolero singer
* Ken Downie, British IDM DJ.
* Michał Urbaniak, 82, Polish jazz multi-instrumentalist19 – Mick Abrahams, 82, English blues rock guitarist 21 – Jontho, 48, Norwegian black metal singer 22 – Chris Rea, 74, English blue rock singer-songwriter and guitarist23 – Paa Kow, Ghanaian highlife drummer24
* Perry Bamonte, 65, English alternative rock multi-instrumentalist.
* Howie Klein, 77, American record label executive25 – Stu Phillips, 92, Canadian-American country singer26
* Don Bryant, 83, American R&B singer-songwriter
* Pate Mustajärvi, 69, Finnish rock singer 27
* Fanny, 46, French pop singer
* Gary Graffman, 97, American classical pianist
* Ants Soots, 69, Estonian classical conductor
* Latha Walpola, 91, Sri Lankan pop singer28 – Andy Billups, 72, British blues rock bassist 30 – Richard Smallwood, 77, American gospel singer-songwriter