Fontaines DC’s longtime manager Trevor Dietz, who was considered by the Irish rock band to be their “sixth member”, has died suddenly aged 47.
Dietz began working with the Brit Award winners as a promoter at the beginning of their careers in Dublin, seeing them go on to become one of the biggest breakthrough rock bands of the past decade.
The group, formed of frontman Grian Chatten, guitarists Conor Curley and Carlos O’Connell, bassist Conor Deegan and drummer Tom Coll, shared a statement to their Instagram on Tuesday (9 June) announcing the news.
“We are utterly heartbroken to let you know that on Sunday June 7, we lost our dear friend and manager Trevor,” the band wrote.
“Trevor was beside us from the beginning of our journey as a band, we have never known Fontaines DC without him, the sixth member of the band. He cared passionately for us and for what was fair and right in the wider world. He was fearless in his beliefs. We will miss him always.”
They ended the post by asking fans to “kindly respect our privacy and that of his family at this terribly difficult time”, adding: “RIP Trev.”
The cause of Dietz’s death was not disclosed.
Dietz was a promoter working at The Workman’s Club in Dublin when he booked the up-and-coming band to play several times in 2016.
“I spotted them and put them on three or four times at the Workman’s, and then we decided to take the relationship from promoter to manager,” he recalled during a Hot Press event in 2019.
“I’d been putting on bands for 20 years, and had my plan of attack ready for when one jumped out at me. I’d watched and studied the managers who came into the venue: people like Frank Murray, god rest his soul, who looked after the Pogues.”
Dietz remembered getting a call from Murray shortly before he died, where he asked if Dietz had found a band yet: “‘No? Well just go out and find them!’ Lo and behold, these guys came along pretty soon after.”
He went on to work alongside Fontaines as they reached international fame and released four critically acclaimed albums, including their debut Dogrel and their latest album, 2024’s Romance. Both records were shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, in 2019 and 2025, respectively.
Dietz said he wouldn’t have agreed to work with the band if they hadn’t been as ambitious as they were: “If other people had heard the conversation that day they would have gone, ‘Jesus, these guys are nuts, it’s not going to happen,’ but I knew we could go well beyond Ireland with this. So first and foremost, you need a band that shares your vision and who are reliable, accountable and honest.”
Speaking to The Independent in 2019, O’Connell echoed Dietz’s sentiment of how big a deal breaking through as an Irish band was, a moment that arguably paved the way for what has since been referred to as a “renaissance” for Ireland’s cultural landscape.
“We started out playing to five people, then 20, then 100,” O’Connell said. “Bands in Ireland have been ignored for a long time, but I feel like there was a moment where, when we were making a name for ourselves, people were starting to look to see if there were any more bands coming out of there.”
Tributes have been pouring in for Dietz since the band shared the news, from a number of fellow artists as well as Fontaines DC’s fans.
Victoria Mary Clarke, journalist and wife of the late Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, wrote: “Really really sorry. What a tragic loss.”
Rock band Lambrini Girls said: “Rest in peace, Trev. He went above and beyond for everyone, and championed so many DIY bands, the impact he had is beyond measure. Lost for words. Sending our love and condolences to all of you.”
Irish rock bands Cardinals called Dietz a “champion of Irish music” while BBC Radio presenter Annie Mac said: “Sending my love to you lads and to Trevor’s loved ones.”
Fontaines DC are scheduled to head out on a European tour in August, ahead of a headline show at Reading and Leeds festivals.
