Michael Hurley

Michael Hurley, a singer-songwriter known for his outsider approach to folk music, died in April 2025 at the age of 83 at his home in Astoria, Oregon.

Originally hailing from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Hurley got his professional start in music with his 1963 debut, "First Songs," launching a career of "freak folk" that saw him showing little regard for mainstream approaches to music or success. Often calling himself "Snock," or variations on that name, over the course of dozens of records he blended bluegrass with folk, the blues, and his own eccentric brand of storytelling to create a body of work that was uniquely Hurley's. Though he never became well-known among the wider public, his music proved influential to acts like Cat Power, Yo La Tengo, Lucinda Williams, and Vic Chesnutt, among others. Hurley was also a writer, painter, and publisher, creating multiple independent magazines (including "The Underground Monthly" and "The Outcry"), several comic books, and the cover art for many of his album covers.

"Many of us saw Hurley play more times than we can count," Mississippi Studios, which released many of his 2010s records, said on Facebook. "He was always brilliant. Always tender. Always funny. Always wholly unique. Every show was a gift. Let Snock's passing remind us to take nothing for granted."

(Image: Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns via Getty Images)