Motorcycle crash kills man remembered as ‘one of a kind’ by country music stars

A beloved sound engineer and drummer for the Nashville Soccer Club died in a motorcycle accident over the weekend, and the community he loved is mourning and celebrating his life.

On June 11, Benjamin Cowherd, 35, was driving a Honda VTX in Nashville when his motorcycle and a car making a left turn collided, according to a news release from the city’s police department.

Cowherd was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries, police said.

A 19-year-man was charged with driving without a license and driving without insurance, according to police. Police said neither driver showed “signs of impairment.”

Following the news of Cowherd’s death, people from around the Nashville music community began sharing memories and condolences.

“Something magic happens when you hear yourself sound good on a microphone for the first time. Ben Cowherd was behind that magic for countless artists at countless venues in Nashville,” Ward Guenther, founder and host of Whiskey Jam, a weekly music show where Cowherd worked for over a decade, said in an Instagram post.

Cowherd genuinely cared about each artist he worked with, Guenther told WKRN, whether they were a country star or just starting their careers.

“He gave them confidence & hope at a time they needed it more than ever. He changed a lot of lives. He was as giving as it gets,” Guenther said in the post. “If you played Whiskey Jam in the last decade, there’s a chance Ben gave you that gift of confidence. There’s a good chance you recognize this smile. He was a friend to so many people in this town and he was a dear member of the Jam Fam. We love him and will miss him terribly.”

Cowherd worked with many musicians as they made their way up the charts, including country music stars Luke Combs and Maren Morris.

“I’ll never forget Ben running the board all those nights at Belcourt Taps and Whiskey Jam,” Luke Combs commented on Guenther’s post. “He was one of a kind and made everyone smile. This one got me.”

On the same post, Maren Morris commented “Meeting him and Ryan Hurd the same night at Belcourt Taps. Such a sweetheart.”

Outside of his work as a sound engineer, Cowherd also served as a drummer with the Nashville Soccer Club drumline, The Backline Supporters Collective.

The soccer club called Cowherd the “beat” of the drumline, always “drumming his heart away with a welcoming smile and spirit that were greater than life,” in an Instagram post.

“Soccer was his tool to care and stand up for those in need, and with that he built a community of soccer fans and friends whose backgrounds surpassed borders,” the club said.

The club announced that during its June 17 match there would be a minute of silence during the 35th minute of the game to honor Cowherd, who died at age 35, WKRN reported.

In response to Guenther’s Instagram post, Cowherd’s father, Lee Cowherd, thanked the Whiskey Jam crew for its tribute.

“While we knew Ben loved Nashville and made a lot of friends, we had no idea how much Nashville loved Ben,” he wrote.

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