Guitarist Matt Roberts has unfortunately passed away at the age of 38. The 3 Doors Down co-founder and former member was traveling with his father, planning to perform at the Rockin’ For Heroes benefit concert tonight for veterans in West Bend, WI. As of now, no cause of death has been determined.
According to CNN, authorities were called to the hotel with reports of a man either “asleep or passed out” in the hallway. He was later declared dead, and his father was woken up early Sunday morning to hear the bad news. “I was wakened at 8:50 this morning by some detectives beating on my door. It’s always scary as a parent, they were in suits and that’s when they told me. They asked me if Matt Roberts was your son, I said yes, and they said ‘we have bad news to tell you, Matt deceased last night,'” said Darrell Roberts.
Though he was a founding member of the successful rockers 3 Doors Down, Roberts struggled with drugs and anxiety stemming largely from his role in the popular band. His father said that he thought Roberts had overcome the addiction, though initial reports suggest that an overdose may have caused the guitarist’s untimely demise. Roberts played with 3 Doors Down from their earliest days in 1996, until he left for health reasons in 2012.
Darrell Roberts is planning to attend the Rockin’ For Heroes benefit tonight, to share in the grieving process with the crowd. “He put all this energy and effort to come out here to perform. I’ll put his guitar on stage and light it up and I’m going to say thanks to everybody and leave and go home in the morning,” said Darrell.
Our hearts go out to the whole Roberts family at this difficult time. RIP Matt Roberts.