EPCOT Tribute Concerts
New Found Glory will honor late guitarist Chad Gilbert with scheduled EPCOT performances.
Anonymous
New Found Glory will proceed with its scheduled EPCOT performances at Walt Disney World as a tribute to founding guitarist Chad Gilbert, who died at 45 after battling cancer. The band said Gilbert, a devoted Disney fan, had helped prepare the setlists and was eager to perform at the park, making the shows a fitting way to honor his memory. The group canceled its upcoming Aftershock Festival appearance to allow time to grieve but plans to perform the six scheduled sets across two days at EPCOT, including songs such as “My Friends Over You” and “Part of Your World.”
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Gilbert had been away from New Found Glory’s touring lineup since 2022 because of ongoing back pain. The condition was later identified as a recurrence of metastatic pheochromocytoma, a rare gland cancer, which progressed into stage-four adrenocortical carcinoma.
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The band said it “rarely cancel[s] shows,” but canceled Aftershock specifically to give its members time to process Gilbert’s death and grieve; the group also thanked fans for the outpouring of support and tribute messages.
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“Part of Your World” carries a particularly direct connection to Gilbert’s Disney tribute: New Found Glory originally recorded the song for Disney’s pop-punk compilation *A Whole New Sound*. Gilbert said the arrangement was intended to capture Ariel’s rebelliousness, hope and longing for freedom.
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The EPCOT performances are part of the band’s planned six distinct sets across two days, and the group said it would follow the setlists Gilbert had curated before his death; all six setlists were subsequently shared publicly.
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Gilbert’s death was announced by New Found Glory and his wife, Lisa Cimorelli, on Sept. 20, about six months after he publicly disclosed that he was battling cancer.
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