Justin Cary, the bassist whose steady, warm playing anchored Sixpence None the Richer through nearly three decades of music, died on June 18, 2026, at the age of 50. His wife Linda was at his side.

Cary joined Sixpence None the Richer in 1997, stepping in to replace founding bassist J.J. Plasencio at a pivotal moment for the band. The group, which had formed in New Braunfels, Texas, in 1992 and later settled into the Nashville music scene, was on the cusp of a breakthrough. The self-titled album they recorded that year carried a song called "Kiss Me" that would change everything. Featured on an episode of "Dawson's Creek" in late 1998 and woven into the fabric of the teen film "She's All That," the track climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and closed out 1999 as the sixth-best-selling single in the country. At the 42nd Grammy Awards in 2000, the song earned a nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Cary's bass was there in every note, providing the pulse beneath one of the most recognizable pop songs of the era.

His tenure with the band stretched well beyond that commercial peak. When Sixpence None the Richer regrouped after a hiatus and recorded "Divine Discontent" in 2002, Cary was present. When the band reunited again and released "Lost in Transition" in 2012, he was there too. He continued performing with the group through their 2024 anniversary tour and into 2025, eventually taking on the additional role of musical director, helping shape the sound and flow of the band's live performances. According to Billboard, Cary had been a member of the band for thirty years at the time of his death, a span of loyalty and dedication rare in any line of work.

Outside of Sixpence None the Richer, Cary had a broad life as a working musician. He played bass on tour for Counting Crows, Jennifer Knapp, and Lee Brice, moving between genres and contexts with the ease of someone who understood the instrument as a vehicle for other people's visions. He also toured with Taylor Swift, a detail that carried a quiet irony: Swift had publicly named "Kiss Me" as one of the first songs she ever learned to play on guitar, and Cary spent time on the road with her without ever mentioning that connection. He reflected on that later with characteristic good humor, saying he probably should have brought it up, since she likely would have made a point of it.

Those who knew him described a person whose warmth matched his professionalism. Leigh Nash, the frontwoman of Sixpence None the Richer, remembered him in terms that spoke to something beyond musicianship. In a tribute shared following his death, she wrote of his "second to NONE professionalism, class, humor, wit" and called him "tough as an old boot," adding: "There's never been anybody like Justin." In a separate statement, she wrote: "We sure had a great time is an understatement. Thank you, Justin. We love you forever." Phil Madeira, a songwriter and producer who had recently joined the band for a series of shows, remembered him as "a world class musician, to be sure, but more so a great human being."

As reported by Rolling Stone, Nash requested that those mourning Cary keep his wife Linda close in their thoughts, describing her as part of the band's own family. "Please keep his dear Linda close to your hearts. She is our family."

Justin Cary was not the kind of musician whose name appeared on marquees or whose face topped album covers. He was, in the truest sense of the phrase, a band member. He showed up. He played with care. He held the bottom end through the commercial heights and the quiet years and the reunions and the road, and he did it with the kind of character that left the people around him better for having known him. The music he made with Sixpence None the Richer will continue to find new ears; the particular shape of a life built on reliability, generosity, and craft is a harder thing to replace.