Michael Hurley, the influential folk singer-songwriter, known as the Godfather of freak folk, has died at the age of 83, with news of his death confirmed on April 3, 2025. Known for his eccentric style and decades-long impact on outsider folk music, Hurley remained active in his craft until the end.
Here’s what we know so far about Michael Hurley’s death.
Michael Hurley cause of death explained
Michael Hurley, the influential American folk singer-songwriter known as the Godfather of freak folk, has died at 83.
His family announced his death in a public statement. His publicist confirmed that Hurley passed away in Oregon. He had just returned from performing at the Big Ears festival in Knoxville. No cause of death was provided.
“It is with a resounding sadness that the Hurley family announces the recent sudden passing of the inimitable Michael Hurley,” the statement read. “He alone was Snock. There is no other.” (via The Rolling Stone)
Hurley was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and began writing songs as a child. “I started making up stuff right away,” Hurley told The New York Times in 2021. “If you don’t know the proper way, you do it your way.”
Hurley recorded his debut album, First Songs, in 1964 with Smithsonian Folkways after being discovered by producer Fred Ramsey during a hitchhiking trip. In the early 1970s, Jesse Colin Young released Hurley’s albums Armchair Boogie and Hi Fi Snock Uptown on his Raccoon label. Rolling Stone wrote of Armchair Boogie, “Michael Hurley is either a stone genius or he is stone crazy. I suspect he is both.”
In 1976, Hurley contributed to Have Moicy!, which became a cult classic. Critic Robert Christgau called it a record that “renew[ed] the concept of American folk music as a bizarre apotheosis of the post-hippie estate.” He also released music through his own label, Bellemeade Phonics, and appeared in the 2018 film Leave No Trace.
Hurley’s final studio album of new material was The Time of the Foxgloves in 2021. “Calling me an outsider artist… yes, I think it’s apt,” Hurley told The Guardian. “It’s taken me a long time to join the gang.”
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.net.
