The Wallflowers guitarist Michael Ward died at the age of 57, his sister confirmed.
People cited online sources who said Ward passed away after his decades of career in the music industry. His sister, Tracy Hartfiel, soon posted a Facebook update to reveal the news.
Michael Ward Dead at 57
In the Tuesday, April 2, post, Hartfiel said Ward "has left this plane," disclosing his death.
"It's with tremendous sorrow that I let you know complications from diabetes took his life last night. Obviously, we are all in shock and overcome with grief. This is all I can handle writing right now. Please tell the people you love just how much they mean to you," she went on.
The Wallflowers shared a separate post to honor their late member, who became part of the band from 1995 to 2001.
"Michael's role and 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," part of the post read. "Listening to Thin Lizzy on a sorrowful day. Rest now Mike."
Ward revealed in an Instagram post that he was set to perform in Las Vegas on April 5, days before his death.
READ ALSO: Marvin Gaye's Cause of Death Reemerged After the Discovery of His Unheard Recordings in Belgium
Why Did Michael Ward Leave The Wallflowers?
Ward played with The Flowers on the band's albums, Bringing Down the Horse and Breach. But in 2001, he reportedly quit after falling out with lead singer, Jakob Dylan.
He said in a 2001 interview (per MTV) that Andy Slater, the band's manager, persuaded him to stay and finish the tour. After the Breach tour, Ward ultimately left the group for good.
"For me, what music is all about is sitting down and creating songs from scratch," he told the outlet at the time. "That's my life, and it's not really about adding guitar parts to someone else's music. That's not really satisfying for me. For a long time we were writing together, and then that stopped, and that made me pretty unhappy."
The duo seemingly patched things up in the years thereafter as Ward greeted Dylan a happy birthday in December.
Ward initially formed School of Fish in 1989 and signed with Capitol Records in 1990 alongside Josh Clayton-Felt, David Lipson and Michael Petrak.
READ MORE: MC5 Manager John Sinclair Dies at 82 After Emergency Health Issue
