Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Julien Baker, the National’s Aaron Dessner and more performed at Brooklyn’s Rough Trade Dec. 5 at “Tiny Changes: A Celebration of the Songs of Scott Hutchison,” in memory of the late Frightened Rabbit frontman, according to Pitchfork. At the event, Baker performed “Holy” by himself and “The Woodpile” accompanied by Dessner, both off of Frighten Rabbit’s 2013 album Pedestrian Verse. In addition, Gibbard and Dessner performed “My Backwards Walk” off of Midnight Organ Fight, which Death Cab had previously covered.
Hutchison died in May at the age of 36, after having been reported missing by his family days earlier. His family, as well as his band mates and friends, asked the public for any tips on his whereabouts. The band released a statement about his death via social media.
Hutchison’s family also released a statement via Police Scotland, according to Pitchfork and The Mirror. It reads:
As a family, we are utterly devastated with the tragic loss of our beloved Scott. Despite his disappearance, and the recent concerns over his mental health, we had all remained positive and hopeful that he would walk back through the door, having taken some time away to compose himself. Scott, like many artists, wore his heart on his sleeve and that was evident in the lyrics of his music and the content of many of his social media posts. He was passionate, articulate and charismatic, as well as being one of the funniest and kindest people we knew. Friends and family would all agree that he had a brilliant sense of humour and was a great person to be around.
In addition to his musical success, Scott was a wonderful son, brother, uncle and friend. Despite whatever else was going on in his life he always had time for those he cared for. Depression is a horrendous illness that does not give you any alert or indication as to when it will take hold of you. Scott battled bravely with his own issues for many years and we are immensely proud of him for being so open with his struggles. His willingness to discuss these matters in the public domain undoubtedly raised awareness of mental health issues and gave others confidence and belief to discuss their own issues.
To all of those who have come forward with such kind messages of support over the past couple of days, we wish to express our most sincerest of thanks. We have been overwhelmed by the love that has been conveyed, not only to Scott, but to our family. It means the world to us. We also want to thank Police Scotland and the Dakota Hotel for all of their assistance since Wednesday. We now ask that our privacy be respected so that we may come to terms with our loss.
Proceeds from last night’s event were donated to the Scott Hutchison Fund, a new mental health charity established by his family.
Photo credit: Kalyn Oyer
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