Jason “Rowdy” Cope’s Death Currently Ruled “Unclassified”
The death of guitar player and songwriter Jason “Rowdy” Cope for the country and Southern rock band The Steel Woods sent shockwaves throughout the independent country community when it was announced on Saturday evening, January 16th.
“It is with a broken and heavy heart that we share the news that our brother, friend and the founder of The Steel Woods, Jason Cope, has passed away,” the band said in part. “We are writing this still in a state of shock and kindly ask for your prayers for the family, friends and band at this time.”
Nashville Police Department Public Affairs Manager Don Aaron tells Saving Country Music that Jason Cope’s passing is currently considered an “unclassified death,” pending an autopsy by the local Medical Examiner. Autopsy reports regularly take between 6 to 8 weeks to conclude.
According to Don Aaron, Jason Cope was found by a male friend who went to his home on Erin Ln. in Nashville Saturday morning, January 16th, to check on him. After knocking on the door repeatedly and receiving no response, the friend forced entry where he found Jason Cope unresponsive, and called 911. There was no sign of a struggle, and no sign of foul play in Jason Cope’s death, though the investigation remains pending until the final autopsy report.
Jason Cope made his name and became a familiar face to many country fans after touring in Jamey Johnson’s backing band for nearly 10 years. Through this time period, Cope also worked as an in-demand session guitar player, performing on records from artists such as Brent Cobb, The Secret Sisters, The Oak Ridge Boys, Pure Ed, Ted Russell Kamp, Nikki Lane, and for Jamey Johnson as well. He played on multiple albums for Lindi Ortega, and produced her 2017 EP ‘Til The Goin’ Gets Gone.
“He played guitar with the heart and soul of a virtuoso and the passion of a freedom fighter,” Jamey Johnson says of Rowdy. “He played because his huge heart overflowed with love and life and rage and healing. As a guitarist he was a force, as a songwriter he was an emotion with a pen, as a friend he was loyal and dependable to the end and as for me, he was my brother.”
Brent Cobb said upon Rowdy’s passing, “He schooled me on everything. He gave me an education you can’t teach unless you lived it. He lived it. And he shared it with anyone willing to learn. He taught me how to grow up, really. He’d always say the secret to success was ‘keeping irons in the fire.’ He was the real damn deal. It’s hard to accept that he’s gone. He’ll be very sorely missed.”
Jason Cope started The Steel Woods with lead singer/guitar player Wes Bayliss. The two met at a one-off gig in Nashville, and after a fishing retreat together, decided to give a new band a shot, hitting it off despite a 13-year age difference. After releasing their debut album Straw in the Wind in 2017 via Thirty Tigers, The Steel Woods immediately shot up the country and Southern Rock depth charts. In early 2019 they released their latest record Old News to much critical acclaim. The album was nominated for Saving Country Music’s Album of the Year.
The Steel Woods are considered one of the fastest-rising bands in independent country and Southern rock, and had recently completed their third album to be released via Thirty Tigers.
January 20, 2021 @ 2:56 pm
Heartbreaking, love this band so much.
January 20, 2021 @ 6:04 pm
Hopefully, the true cause will be revealed. His death was already heartbreaking but it would be even more if it was under even more heartbreaking circumstances.
January 20, 2021 @ 9:21 pm
I was shocked and greatly saddened when I heard this news. The Steel Woods are one of my faves, such amazing songs. My heart goes out to Jason’s family, band mates, and friends.
January 21, 2021 @ 6:17 am
Very tragic.
January 24, 2021 @ 3:38 am
3 Autographed Lp’s Sit in My Man Cave…..” Old News” and 2 Test Pressings of the Same ! I Sigh Everytime I look at them !…………
April 8, 2021 @ 8:53 am
I have a signed copy of a release with an axe in a log. It seems to be unnamed. I bought it at Whiskey Meyers show and met Jason and the rest of the band. Jason was sooo cool. We got several pictures with him. He seemed like such a bright spirit. I’m saddened every time I look at that signed CD handing on my wall 🙁
January 24, 2021 @ 6:11 pm
Is this a gossip column now? Smh.
January 24, 2021 @ 6:21 pm
Will repost this here from Facebook:
For whomever needs to hear it:
I knew the guitar player and founding member of The Steel Woods Jason “Rowdy” Cope personally. I’d had numerous interactions with him over the years. I had followed his career from before The Steel Woods, and I have absolutely nothing but love and respect for him and the legacy in life and music he left behind when he tragically passed away recently.
My coverage of his tragic and unfortunate death wasn’t posted for “clicks” any more than any other article ever posted about the death of anyone—whether it’s one of the 40 full-length obituaries I posted for musicians who passed away in 2020, The lengthy In Memoriam article I posted at the end of 2020 that detailed the dozens of contributors to country that passed away in 2020, the obituary I just posted today (Thursday) for Randy Parton, or the dozens of articles I have posted following up on the deaths of other individuals important to the country music realm.
I appreciate and respect that people are concerned for Jason “Rowdy” Cope and so am I. But to accuse me of trying to generate “clicks” to a site that has cost me extreme expense both financially and personally for 13 years to keep going is not only incorrect, it is irresponsible, frankly unconscionable, and is born of Facebook-style gossipy bullshit being sowed by jealous parties and individuals who believe they’re rivals that has no basis in the reality of how the death of performers in the public space are covered, and have been for many decades, by many outlets. If you think talking about artists like Jason “Rowdy” Cope results in large numbers of “clicks” beyond a very small niche of dialed-in independent fans, you don’t know anything about how journalism and clickbait works.
Nobody accused me of positing for “clicks” when I was one of the first and only individuals to review and promote the debut record from The Steel Woods. Nobody said I was just fishing for clicks when I nominated The Steel Woods for both Album of the Year, and Song of the Year in 2019.
It is an absolutely irresponsible, ludicrous, and aggressively insulting assertion to make, and it’s embarrassing I even have to address it.
All love to Jason ‘Rowdy” Cope, his friends, his family, and his fans.
–Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos
January 31, 2021 @ 3:16 pm
So sad to hear this news. I’ve been off of social media for a bit and just ran into this news checking for potential dates for The Steel Woods. One of my favorite live bands because of Rowdy’s stage presence and talent.