Jeremy Tepper — an influential musician, journalist and executive in the country music industry — has passed away.

He was 60.

Variety reports the program director of SiriusXM’s popular “Outlaw Country” channel died of a heart attack on Friday, his wife Laura Cantrell confirmed.

Read the full Variety report.

Born in 1963, the New York University graduate and longtime proponent of the Americana and alt-country genres cofounded the record label Diesel Only Records in1990. Prior to his role at Sirius, he served as managing editor of the magazine “Vending Times.” He became format manager for Sirius’ “Outlaw Country” channel in 2004.

The channel prides itself as promoting “Music that won’t be fenced in.”

“No borders, no b.s.—from country’s roots and legends to today’s outsiders that just won’t be fenced in,” the channel’s official page says. “Tune in every weekday to hear the rantings of Mojo Nixon, ‘The Loon in the Afternoon.’” Nixon, a legendary roots rock musician and host of the Sirius channel, passed away at 66 in February 2024.

Tepper also fronted the band The World Famous Blue Jays.

“Jeremy Tepper, a beloved member of SiriusXM, profoundly influenced us with his unwavering dedication to music and innovative spirit,” SiriusXM posted on X. “His contributions, in shaping Outlaw Country and Willie’s Roadhouse, are beyond measure. Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this time.”

Guitarist and actor Stevie Van Zandt posted on Facebook about the loss of Tepper: “Lost my good friend Jeremy Tepper last night. An incredibly tragic loss so young. He ran my Outlaw Country station on SiriusXM brilliantly. It is actually quite a complicated format and he made it look easy. Our deepest love and condolences to Laura and his family and friends.”

“He completely upended my life. He coaxed me into becoming a person that talked on the radio, which I honestly would have never thought of,” country singer and radio host Elizabeth Cook posted. “Sendin love to the family, our OC fam and team, and all our beautiful outlaw people who have lost something most never even knew they had- a music ‘industry’ person, a trojan horse who cared about the music and the vibes over politics and corporate considerations, a true unicorn and unsung hero. Peace out my beautiful outlaw brother.”

“Huge loss for the music community today with the passing of our dear friend Jeremy Tepper,” country musician Margo Price wrote on X. “He was a champion of so many in the Americana/outlaw scene. Jeremy was the first one to bring me on the bus to smoke a doobie with Willie Nelson at Farm Aid in 2016. Can’t believe he’s gone.”

Birmingham radio host Scott Register also shared his condolences online. “Just looked at my phone for the first time since last night and my thread was immediately filled with the news of the loss of our friend and radio programmer extraordinaire, Jeremy Tepper,” Register wrote. “Shocked and deeply saddened.” Register dedicated his June 16, 2024, edition of the Reg’s Coffee House playlist to Tepper.