Music
16 Feb 26

Manchester Orchestra drummer Tim Very dies aged 42

Tim Very, pictured L1, with Manchester Orchestra Credit: Nolan Knight

Very became Manchester Orchestra’s longest-serving drummer, appearing on the group’s past three studio albums

Manchester Orchestra drummer Tim Very has died aged 42. The Atlanta-based band announced his death on Saturday, February 14, on social media, saying his passing was sudden.

"We've all been dreading sharing this news, as we are all still in absolute disbelief," the Atlanta rock group wrote on social media.

They described Very as "instantly likeable" and said he "interacted with everyone he met with kindness and warmth".

Very grew up in Pensacola, Florida, and began playing the drums as a teenager. Inspired by Dave Grohl, he first learnt how to play Nirvana songs.

In 2022, he told the podcast Drummers On Drumming, "I wasn't one of those guys that got to start playing when I was, like, six years old and got lessons out of the gate."

"It took me some time to sort of figure out who I was. I knew right away that I would be doing this for a very long time."

Very joined Manchester Orchestra in 2011, taking over for Jeremiah Edmond. Very played his first show with the band in London, during the UK leg of an international tour in support of their album, Simple Math.

Very would go on to become Manchester Orchestra’s longest-serving drummer, appearing on the group’s past three studio albums: Cope (2014), A Black Mile to the Surface (2017), and The Million Masks of God (2021).

The band released their most recent EP, The Valley of Vision, in 2023 and are set to release a live album, Union Chapel (London, England), next month.

In addition to his work with Manchester Orchestra, Very was a producer, session musician, and one of the founders of the production company Super Canoe.