Nell Smith, singer who recorded an album of Nick Cave covers with the Flaming Lips, dies at 17

Smith was working on her debut solo album at the time of her death.

Nell Smith, a talented musician and singer who famously recorded an album of Nick Cave covers with The Flaming Lips and who was working on her debut solo album, died on Saturday. She was 17.

Smith's family shared the news in a post to her official Instagram account on Monday, writing, "It pains us so much to say that our feisty, talented, unique, beautiful daughter was cruelly taken from us on Saturday night."

The post continued, "We are reeling from the news and don’t know what to do or say. She had so much more to experience and to give this world but we are grateful that she got to experience so very much in her 17 years. She has left an indelible mark on the word and an unfillable chasm in our hearts."

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Signed by her family, the note, which also featured a carousel of candid shots of Smith, concluded with a reminder and a request for privacy: "Hold your kids extra tight tonight and for now please leave us to work through things. We will shout when we need you."

Smith was a major fan of The Flaming Lips and first met the band's frontman Wayne Coyne after her parents took her to their 2018 show in Calgary, according to Consequence of Sound. Coyne stayed in touch with the budding musician and her family as she learned guitar and started writing songs, which eventually culminated in them collaborating on the Cave covers album, Where the Viaduct Looms, in November 2021, when she was just 14.

Coyne paid tribute onstage to Smith at the Lips' show in Portland on Sunday, telling the crowd they'd received "very sad messages that she was killed in a car accident." "We're reminded once again of the power of music and how encouraging it can be to be around people that you love," he said, visibly choking up before performing the band's next song.

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Simon Raymonde of the Cocteau Twins also shared his condolences on Monday, revealing that Smith had been working on her debut solo album via his Bella Union record label, set for release sometime next year.

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"We are all shocked and devastated to hear of the sudden and tragic passing of our artist and dear friend Nell Smith, over the weekend in British Columbia," Raymonde wrote. "Nell was just 17 and was preparing for the release of her first solo record in early 2025 on Bella Union, made in Brighton with Penelope Isles’ Jack and Lily Wolter."

He concluded, "While we all try and come to terms with the awful news, and out of respect to Nell’s grieving family, we are unable to make any further comments at this time. The Bella Union Family."

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