Jay Weaver, a bassist and vocalist for the Christian rock band Big Daddy Weave, has died from complications related to COVID-19. He was 42.
His brother and fellow band member Mike Weaver confirmed the news in a video posted to the group’s Instagram on Sunday.
“Thank you so much for all your prayers for my brother,” Weaver said. “You have walked with him through a huge fight, and I’m so sorry to bring this news but I’m also excited to celebrate where he is right now. My brother Jay went to be with Jesus just a couple hours ago due to complications due to COVID-19 on top of everything else that he already had going on.”
Addressing their fans directly, Weaver spoke about how “we all just really wanted to thank you for walking with us through so much, you know, for so long,” promising to provide more information soon.
Two days earlier, the band posted that Weaver was in the hospital “fighting a tough battle against COVID” and asked their fans to send their prayers.
“He is fighting so hard. I can see it on him as I look through the window of his door,” his wife Emily added to the statement. “Yes, he has the awful virus. I just want my best friend/everything to get better.”
Alongside his brother Mike, Jay Weaver formed Big Daddy Weave with Joe Shirk, Jeremy Redmon, and Brian Beihl in 1998. The group met while attending college in Alabama at the University of Mobile.
“Known for honest songs that tell personal stories of freedom in Christ, Big Daddy Weave fans have long admired the band for their particular brand of real-life, real-person openness,” reads the band’s artist page on their label Curb Records’ website.
Big Daddy Weave is best known for contemporary Christian hits “I Know” and “My Story,” as well as “The Lion and the Lamb,” “Overwhelmed,” and “Redeemed.”
The biography mentions the “nearly overwhelming” health challenges Weaver has faced beginning in 2015, including an infection that resulted in the amputation of both of his feet in 2016. The recovery was so painful “that Jay battled the idea of whether he should even continue living,” yet the band continued to write and record music together.
Their ninth and most recent album, “When The Light Comes,” was released in 2019.
“Our prayers are with the Big Daddy Weave family in the passing of Jay Weaver,” Curb Records wrote on their Facebook page. “Rest In Peace, Jay.”
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