What Happened To Wes Freed? How Did Wes Freed Die?

Wes Freed, an American outsider artist whose works appeared on album covers of Lauren Hoffman and numerous American rock bands, including Cracker and the Drive-By Truckers, has died. He was born April 25, 1964 and died September 4, 2022 at age 58.

Drive-By Truckers confirmed his death on their Facebook page, saying “I know word is out. I’ll be posting something when I can. Just too damned sad right now to articulate anything.”

What happened to Wes Freed? Earlier this year, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to help Freed cover medical expenses related to his colorectal cancer diagnosis, which he received in January.

How did Wes Freed die? Though a cause of death was not given, Freed most likely died of colorectal cancer.

In 2019, three years prior to his death, Freed published a 160-page, coffee table-style tome titled “The Art of Wes Freed: Paintings, Posters, Pin-ups and Possums.”

The book is a collection of much of his art, including many of the album covers he’s done for Drive-By Truckers, as well as other bands like Cracker and artist Lauren Hoffman.

After meeting Drive-By Truckers in the late ‘90s at Capital City Barn Dance—a music festival, he co-founded—the first of their many collaborations was the artwork he created for the band’s 2001 double LP Southern Rock Opera, which featured a red-eyed owl flying over a burning field.

He later went on to design posters, t-shirts, backdrops, and other merch for the band. More so, the “Cooley Bird” character he created would become visually synonymous with the band (and guitarist Mike Cooley).

A staple of the Richmond, Virginia, rock scene, Freed also played in several local bands including the Shiners, Dirt Ball, and Mud Helmet.