Steve Howe’s Son Virgil Dies, Yes Cancel Remaining Tour Dates
Yes guitarist Steve Howe's youngest son Virgil, drummer for the British power trio Little Barrie, has died of "tragic, unexpected" causes.
As a result, Yes have announced that they will be cancelling the remainder of their Yestival tour dates. No cause of death was given for the younger Howe, who was scheduled to kick off a 14-date UK tour with Little Barrie this Wednesday (Sept. 13) in support of their most recent album, Death Express. He was perhaps best known for recording the theme song to Better Call Saul.
In a Facebook post, Yes asked fans for support, understanding, and privacy for Howe and his family:
Due to the tragic, unexpected death of guitarist Steve Howe’s beloved younger son, Virgil, YES regrettably announces that the remaining dates of their Yestival Tour have been cancelled.
Ticket refunds for the affected tour dates (in Moorhead, Cedar Rapids, London, Rochester, Boston and Huntington) will be available at point of purchase.
YES — Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood — want to thank all their fans for their support and understanding at this time.
Steve Howe and family ask for their privacy to be respected during this difficult time.
Virgil sang and played keyboards on his father's 1993 album The Grand Scheme of Things, which also found older brother Dylan taking over drums. The family trio teamed up again 10 years later for the album Elements, credited to Steve Howe's Remedy.
Earlier this month, Prog magazine reported the Virgil and Steve had teamed up for an instrumental album entitled Nexus.
“It’s a full-on collaborative album, not a duet," the elder Howe said. "It’s been refreshing to work with Virgil, and we’ve pulled this beautiful album together. Although it’s got shades of mellow music, it doesn’t sit still. It moves across electronic music and my guitars. This is an opportunity to discover what Virgil’s been doing on the side of his drumming with Little Barrie."
The Nexus album is currently scheduled to be released in November.
Listen to Little Barrie Perform 'Produkt'