Guitarist Neal Casal (better known for his work in the Chris Robinson Brotherhood) committed suicide at the age of 50.\u00a0 Casal had just showcased a monumental peformance with his band Circles Around the Sun at the 2019 Locked In Festival as well as sitting in with Oteil Burbridge and Friends.\u00a0 Neal was not just an amazing musician but he was a kind-hearted man who touched everyone he met with a smile and lots of love for both music and humanity.<\/p>\n
Neal is another casulty to mental health\/suicide and it truly breaks my heart that we’ve lost another great musician.\u00a0 Oteil Burbridge of Oteil and Friends\/Dead & Company said that he didn’t even see it.\u00a0 Those of us with mental health issues have a way of hiding it from the general public, friends, and family.\u00a0 Neal was obviously struggling inside.\u00a0 Because of the social stigma of mental and emotional illness, most people are prone to keep their struggles to themselves therefore making it somewhat invisible to others.<\/p>\n
Many of the musicians that worked with Neal took to the Internet to express their feelings about Neal’s passing:<\/p>\n
Chris Robinson (Chris Robinson Brotherhood)<\/strong> <\/p>\n Bob Weir (Dead & Company\/Wolf Brothers)<\/strong> <\/p>\n Shooter Jennings<\/strong> <\/p>\n Ryan Adams<\/strong> <\/p>\n Tift Merrit<\/strong> <\/p>\n The Grateful Dead<\/strong> <\/p>\n Jason Isbell<\/strong> <\/p>\n Casal worked with Willie Nelson, Shooter Jennings, Chris Robinson and Phil Lesh and Friends, but is perhaps best known as the lead guitarist in Ryan Adams\u2019 backing band the Cardinals. Casal also released several solo albums and founded the psychedelic band Circles Around the Sun, whose music was famously played before and in between sets at the Grateful Dead<\/a>\u2019s Fare Thee Well shows in 2015.<\/p>\n
\n“\u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019m having to say goodbye to my friend and my brother. It\u2019s almost too painful. When I think about the songs we\u2019ve written, the shows we\u2019ve played and all the laughs and great times we shared, it\u2019s almost unbearable to know you\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy last memory of Neal will be the smile he left me with.”<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI am absolutely devastated with the news of the loss of my dear friend and consistent collaborator Neal Casal. He was always my favorite picker in LA and we\u2019d all just finished some beautiful music together. I\u2019m really just hollowed out by this. God bless NC.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOh man. My heart is broken. It\u2019s too much. What an honor to have known you, true believer. I love you, always. Go easy, brother. Go easy. Through thick and thin your heart was a lighthouse of kindness. Your eyes a mirror to a better world \u2014 your soul bled into ever note. I don\u2019t know how to even feel right now. Grateful for your time. But immense loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n“Neal Casal was a beautiful part of the Tambourine sessions, a kind and generous player and friend. I always feel strange about showing up for someone once they are gone. I\u2019d rather do it when they were living.\u00a0 Neal, I miss you and I didn\u2019t think you\u2019d be gone so soon. Love, rest and peace to you, gentle man.”<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s an unbearable loss, but the love and light that our friend Neal shed on the world is forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNeal Casal was a fantastic musician and a great photographer and a kind, sweet soul. We\u2019ll miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n