Illinois-based band Planes Mistaken for Stars lead singer Gared O'Donnell reportedly died at the age of 44 last Wednesday, November 24, 2021.

According to Pitchfork, the singer and guitarist passed away after going through a long battle with cancer. His bandmates confirmed the news regarding their "leader".

"Our brother, our leader, our captain, who has done more to cultivate love and light in this world than any of us can understand, has moved on from his physical form here with us and crossed the rainbow bridge into the eternal ether," they wrote.

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"In his final days/hours, he was surrounded by the love of his family, his friends, his bandmates, and many others from afar," they concluded.

O'Donnell's Life As A Musician

Also reported by the same source, O'Donnell co-founded the band Planes Mistaken for Stars in Illinois, together with Mat Bellinger, Mike Ricketts, and Aaron Wise, back in 1997. After releasing their self-titled EP, the band relocated themselves to Denver, Colorado and shared their debut album "F*ck With Fire" with No Idea Records four years later. By 2004, they also released "Up In Them Guts."

The group reached their endpoint four years after their third album, "Mercy" and they reunited by 2010. Their fourth record, "Prey," became O'Donnell's last album with the group in 2016.

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On O'Donnell's Sickness

O'Donnell announced in 2020 that he was diagnosed with stage three esophageal cancer, per

The Sun. And despite suffering from his discovered health condition, in a continuous statement of the band, they revealed that he was working on new music, hoping to share it in the future.

"Gared spent the last year of his life doing exactly what he loved, writing and recording music," the band's statement continues.

"We are currently working hard to bring these multiple final projects to completion. It is heartbreaking to do this without him, but we know that he would want for us to complete what we had started together. We will do our absolute best to honor his legacy and spread word of the legend that he embodied."

Numerous musicians also left their tribute to the one who passed, namely Touché Amoré, Pianos Become the Teeth, and La Dispute.

May his soul rest in peace.

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