2020 in music

This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2020 in music.

Specific locations

African music
American music
Asian music
Australian music
Brazilian music
British music
Canadian music
Chinese music
Czech music
Danish music
European music
Finnish music
French music
German music
Icelandic music
Indian music
Indonesian music
Irish music
Japanese music
Latin music
Malaysian music
Mongolian music
Norwegian music
Philippine music
Polynesian music
Scandinavian music
South Korean music
Swedish music
Taiwanese music
Vietnamese music
Specific genres
Classical
Country
Electronic
Jazz
Latin
Heavy metal
Hip hop
Progressive Rock
Rock
K-pop
J-pop
Albums released

Awards

Bands formed

January

1
* Lexii Alijai, 21, American rapper
* Marty Grebb, 74, American rock keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist
* Tommy Hancock, 90, American country singer
2 – Lorraine Chandler, 73, American soul singer
3 – Bo Winberg, 80, Swedish rock guitarist
4 – Emanuel Borok, 75, Russian-born American classical violinist
5 – Martin Griffin, British space rock drummer
7 – Neil Peart, 67, Canadian progressive rock drummer and lyricist
8 – Edd Byrnes, 87, American actor and pop singer
9
* Tom Alexander, 85, Scottish folk accordionist
* Bobby Comstock, 78, American rock and roll singer
10 – Wolfgang Dauner, 84, German jazz pianist
11 – Maceo Woods, 87, American gospel musician
13
* Demetri Callas, 77, American rock guitarist and singer
* Hylda Sims, 87, British skiffle guitarist
14
* Steve Martin Caro, 71, American baroque pop singer
* Chamín Correa, 90, Mexican classical guitarist
* Guy Deplus, 95, French chamber music clarinetist
* Barry Mayger, 73, English pop bassist
* Bruno Nettl, 89, Czech-born American ethnomusicologist and musicologist
15 – Chris Darrow, 75, American country and rock singer and multi-instrumentalist
18
* Dennis Garcia, 67, Filipino pop rock bassist
* David Olney, 71, American folk singer-songwriter
19
* Dan Andrei Aldea, 69, Romanian progressive rock singer and multi-instrumentalist
* Jimmy Heath, 93, American jazz saxophonist
* Robert Parker, 89, American R&B singer
* Sunanda Patnaik, 85, Indian classical singer
21 – Meritxell Negre, 48, Spanish pop singer
24
* Joe Payne, 35, American metal bassist
* Sean Reinert, 48, American metal drummer
25
* Bob Gullotti, 71, American free jazz drummer
* Vernon Sandusky, 80, American rock singer and guitarist
26 – Bob Shane, 85, American folk singer and guitarist
27 – Reed Mullin, 53, American sludge metal drummer
28 – Bob Nave, 75, American bubblegum pop keyboardist
30 – Lucien Barbarin, 63, American jazz trombonist
February
1
* Harold Beane, 73, American funk guitarist
* Andy Gill, 64, British post-punk guitarist
* Peter Serkin, 72, American classical pianist
2
* Kofi B, Ghanaian highlife singer
* Ivan Král, 71, Czech-American rock bassist and songwriter
4
* Andrew Brough, New Zealand indie rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist
* Buddy Cage, 73, Canadian folk pedal steel guitarist
* Ljiljana Petrović, 80, Serbian pop singer
6
* Lynn Evans, 95, American pop singer
* Diego Farias, 27, American progressive metalcore guitarist
* Nello Santi, 88, Italian classical conductor
7
* Nexhmije Pagarusha, 86, Albanian-Kosovan pop singer
* Steve Weber, 76, American folk singer and guitarist
8 – Robert Conrad, 84, American actor and singer
9 – Sergei Slonimsky, 87, Russian classical composer
10 – Lyle Mays, 66, American jazz fusion keyboardist
11 – Joseph Shabalala, 78, South African isicathamiya and mbube singer
12
* Paul English, 87, American country drummer
* Victor Olaiya, 89, Nigerian highlife trumpeter
13
* Buzzy Linhart, 76, American folk rock singer-songwriter
* Jacob Thiele, 40, American indie rock keyboardist
14
* Reinbert de Leeuw, 81, Dutch classical pianist and conductor
* Sonam Sherpa, 48, Indian blues rock guitarist
15 – Cavan Grogan, 70, Welsh rock and roll singer
16
* Pearl Carr, 98, British pop singer
* Graeme Allwright, 93, New Zealand-French folk and jazz singer-songwriter
17
* Kizito Mihigo, 38, Rwandan gospel singer
* Andrew Weatherall, 56, British electronic musician and record producer
18 – Jon Christensen, 78, Norwegian jazz drummer
19
* Bob Cobert, 95, American composer
* Pop Smoke, 20, American rapper
24
* David Roback, 61, American alternative rock and dream pop guitarist
* Jahn Teigen, 70, Norwegian pop and progressive rock singer
26
* Hans Deinzer, 86, German classical clarinetist
* Sergei Dorensky, 88, Russian classical pianist
27 – Lillian Offitt, 81, American blues and R&B singer
28 – Mike Somerville, 67, American rock guitarist and songwriter
29
* Odile Pierre, 87, French classical organist and composer
* Bill Smith, 93, American classical and jazz clarinetist
March
2
* Jan Vyčítal, 77, Czech country singer
* Susan Weinert, 54, German jazz fusion guitarist
* Peter Wieland, 89, German pop singer
3
* Les Cauchi, 77, American pop singer
* Alf Cranner, 83, Norwegian folk singer
4 – Barbara Martin, 76, American R&B singer
6
* McCoy Tyner, 81, American jazz pianist
* Elinor Ross, 93, American opera soprano
7
* Jim Owen, 78, American country singer-songwriter
* Laura Smith, Canadian folk singer-songwriter
9
* Keith Olsen, 74, American psychedelic rock bassist and record producer
* Eric Taylor, 70, American folk singer-songwriter
10
* Marcelo Peralta, 59, Argentine jazz saxophonist
* Beba Selimović, 80, Bosnian folk singer
11 – Charles Wuorinen, 81, American classical composer
12 – Don Burrows, 91, Australian jazz multi-instrumentalist
14
* Phil Phillips, 94, American pop singer-songwriter
* Eva Pilarová, 80, Czech jazz singer
* Genesis P-Orridge, 70, British industrial singer, songwriter and bassist
* Diane Ray, 74, American pop singer
16
* Sergio Bassi, 69, Italian folk rock singer-songwriter
* Ted Cahill, 72, American garage rock guitarist
* Jason Rainey, 53, American thrash metal guitarist
17 – Thái Thanh, 85, Vietnamese-American pop singer
19 – Aurlus Mabélé, 66, Congolese soukous singer
20
* Kenny Rogers, 81, American country and pop singer-songwriter
* Jerry Slick, 80, American psychedelic rock drummer
21 – Hellmut Stern, 91, German classical violinist
22
* Gabi Delgado-López, 61, Spanish-born German electronic singer
* Julie Felix, 81, American-British folk singer
* Mike Longo, 83, American jazz pianist
* Peter Stapleton, 65, New Zealand alternative rock drummer
* Eric Weissberg, 80, American country and bluegrass banjoist
23 – Tres Warren, 41, American psychedelic rock singer and guitarist
24
* Manu Dibango, 86, Cameroonian makossa and jazz saxophonist
* Bill Rieflin, 59, American rock drummer
25 – Detto Mariano, 82, Italian rock keyboardist and film composer
26
* Olle Holmquist, 83, Swedish big band trombonist
* Bill Martin, 81, British pop songwriter
27
* Bob Andy, 75, Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter
* Don Burch, 81, American doo-wop singer
* Mirna Doris, 79, Italian canzone Napoletana singer
* Delroy Washington, 67, Jamaican-born British reggae singer
28 – Jan Howard, 91, American country singer-songwriter
29
* Joe Diffie, 61, American country singer and songwriter
* Alan Merrill, 69, American pop rock singer and bassist
* Paravai Muniyamma, 82, Indian folk singer
* Krzysztof Penderecki, 86, Polish classical composer and conductor
30
* Riachão, 98, Brazilian samba singer
* Bill Withers, 81, American soul singer-songwriter
31
* Cristina, 61, American new wave singer
* Wallace Roney, 59, American jazz trumpeter

2020 in music

Specific locations

Specific genres

Albums released

Awards

Bands formed

Soloist debuts

Bands reformed

Bands on hiatus

Bands disbanded

Deaths

January

February

March