
Kurt Vile shares tribute to Violators bandmate Rob Laakso
The longtime guitarist of Kurt Vile and the Violators died on Thursday (4 May) after battling with cancer.
On Monday (8 May), Vile shared a lengthy tribute to Laakso on Instagram.
Before sharing anecdotes of their friendship, Vile stated that it has been beautiful seeing all of the tributes to his bandmate because, "yeah he was quiet but there was so much to him. Musical genius. Recording whizz. Best husband and father."
Recalling Laakso's initiation into the Violators, Vile says: "I had an idea to trigger the fingerpicked acoustics on baby’s arms with synths sorta like the drum machine does on freak train (thanks for that jeff zeigler!) when rob visited the studio (still in other bands but my having known him for years at that point…) he ran home and came back with an arp 2600 and sequencer and other pedals and accoutrements under his arms and made the final touches of baby’s arms in about 1 hour I’d say (it sounds like beautiful psychedelic raindrops singing along or something, you’ll know when you listen…)"
A GoFundMe page has been created to help support Laakso's family.
- Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition 2025 finalists revealed
- Ed Sheeran shares new single, "Azizam"
- Kesha wants forthcoming album to be "a safe space for people to feel fully embodied and liberated"
- Rachel Chinouriri presents new single, "23:42"
- Caity Baser joins forces with Oh Wonder on new single, "Running From Myself"
- Lydia Night of The Regrettes unveils debut solo single, "Pity Party"
- Matilda Mann covers Chet Baker's "There Will Never Be Another You"
Get the Best Fit take on the week in music direct to your inbox every Friday

Dirty Projectors
Song of the Earth

Black Country, New Road
Forever Howlong

Djo
The Crux
