Savannah Music Community Mourns Oisin Daly

June 14, 2026 – A lot of Savannahians are grieving this week following the sudden death of local musician Oisin Daly, the husband of regular Savannah Agenda contributor Vanessa Lantos Daly. At only 38 years old, he left us way too soon. I didn’t know him well, mostly through Vanessa, but he was always friendly when I ran into him running sound or playing a gig. Many others, including his bandmate, Xulu Jones, can provide a much better picture of who we lost and I have included some of their messages below. I was planning to celebrate Savannah’s local music scene in this week’s newsletter following the phenomenal Dog Days Fest last week and the outstanding Beach Boys tribute show at Victory North. With Oisin’s passing, I think it is even more important to celebrate the musicians that make this community great. Like Oisin, so many people bring beauty and joy to this world. Their presence keeps me going, and I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that way.

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Below you will find some of the many messages posted about Oisin on Facebook since his passing. The messages paint a portrait of Oisin as a deeply beloved figure in Savannah’s music and arts community and a generous friend who quietly helped countless people without expecting anything in return. Friends remembered his kindness, humor, willingness to mentor fellow musicians and ability to connect people and build community. Many described him as a selfless, loyal and loving presence whose influence extended far beyond music, while tributes from Vanessa and his closest friends conveyed profound grief and emphasized the outpouring of love from a community mourning the loss of someone who touched so many lives.

Xulu Jones (Xuluprophet bandmade):
“This is Xulu. My brother, our brother, has ventured on ahead without me this time. Oisin is gone. His wife, my beloved Vanessa, found him after he had peacefully died in his sleep.

There is no measure of this grief. I’ve never encountered a more noble soul or pure-hearted human being than my friend.

Anything that I have going on in my life he had some part of. Oceanman always made sure that the logistics of the plan worked. The aspects of being human that he was good at supplemented my deficiencies, and vice versa.

The core of our musical connection was improvisational freedom. Some people know music theory and have no soul when they play. Other people have all the passion and none of the skill. My man had it all.

Because of my friend, my ability to give and receive love increased over the last 14 years.

There is so much to say, so many memories to share over the next few days.”

Jermaine Kicklighter:
“Man I’m at a loss for words. When I tell you this fella was a gem. From mixing full-on orchestras to rock and roll bands, Oisin Daly made it happen. The tribe is gonna miss you, brother. We have lost a really great one.”

Tres L Too:
“As I write this, I think it’s fair to say that much of our community is still in absolute shock. My hope is that we can continue to hold each other close as we process our raw grief together.

When I moved here five years ago, one of the very first people I met was Oisin Daly. He was funny, welcoming and super kind. Little did I know then that he and his wife would become like family to me.

Last year on my birthday, Oisin came over and DJed after he had already worked all day. He was always a busy man, often doing things for other people and not even giving that a second thought, because that’s just how he was.

When I was in Ireland a couple of months ago, Oisin reached out to friends and got me on the guest list for an event just so I could have an authentic, local experience. Again, a deeply generous gesture.

Now it is our turn to show up for them. Let’s hold and carry Vanessa and Oisin’s loved ones through this excruciating time and honor his memory by emulating his beautiful way of being.

C’mon tribe, let’s show up for each other right now with love like Oisin did and keep his beautiful energy alive and circulating. Let’s make music and dance together in his name.”

Kari Greenway:
“Oisin Daly, I know we weren’t super close, but you had an impact on my life. Always so kind and funny. You helped me record some songs without wanting any monetary payment. You wanted nothing but the joy of helping a fellow musician.

Your saying ‘paradiddle, diddle, diddle’ for me in your Irish accent always made me giggle.

You were an amazing person and musician and brought so much light with your aura to this world and the Savannah music scene. Rest in peace, man.”

MatKa Savannah:
“As most of you know, I lost one of my best friends yesterday. I picked him up Friday morning just after midnight at the airport. We debated whether to bring the gear we invested in together for our gig that night. We went to his favorite haunt and got some drinks. Nothing crazy, he just wanted to unwind from traveling. I dropped him off at home. No indications of anything wrong.

Had I known when I dropped him off it would be the last time I saw him, I would have hugged him and told him I loved him and that I was extremely proud to be his friend. He helped shape my entire existence in Savannah. He and I worked on countless gigs together. We played countless shows together. We threw countless events together.

I can’t just mourn Oisin’s death. I’m determined to celebrate his life. I will be organizing some very special fundraisers with his family and close friends in the next week.

This has been one of the hardest weeks of my life. Losing two best friends in two days wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card.”

Rhett Coleman:
“I still can’t believe Oisin is gone. Like many others have expressed, he helped me along my musical journey in ways that are hard to quantify.

When my own life had fallen completely apart, I was trying to connect with the music scene in all the wrong ways and then Oisin took me to a few open mics and introduced me around. I was working almost immediately. I owe him a lot of who I am today.

I will miss his mischievous grin, his most unique way with words and mostly that sweet guitar fret wankery. I’m fortunate to have a treasure trove of good memories to pull from all the misadventures from the gutters to the mountaintops and back again.

The tribe has really shown up and shown out. I think it’s further testament to his impact and the loss we all feel. Squeeze your loved ones and raise a glass for the old boy.”

Kevin Rose:
“Blessed are the souls who go through life with so much talent that they never have to boast, blessed are the souls with so much humor that they can share theirs with an entire room and never exhaust their supply, blessed are those who contain so much love they could float an entire town with it.

Blessed was Oisin, but more so, blessed were the ones that knew him, that heard his voice and his heart, the humans that he approached and gifted with his presence.”

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