Todd Snider’s Arrest Explained: Inside the Timeline of His Biggest Controversies
After reporting he was assaulted before his weekend South Salt Lake show, singer-songwriter Todd Snider canceled the gig, then was arrested shortly after for allegedly causing a disturbance at the hospital where he was treated, Fox 13 Now reports.
Folk troubadour and storyteller Todd Snider had a rough weekend in Utah: he said he was assaulted before a gig, canceled the show, then got arrested after a flare-up at the hospital. Now his entire tour is off indefinitely. That is a lot of plot for one tour stop.
What happened in Salt Lake
Snider, 59, was in town for the second stop of his High, Lonesome and Then Some 2025 tour, booked at The Commonwealth Room in South Salt Lake. He says he was attacked outside his hotel before the show, which forced a last‑minute cancellation. South Salt Lake police have not confirmed anything about an assault. Shortly after, on Sunday, Snider was arrested.
Here is the part that got messy. According to Fox 13 Now, after treatment at Holy Cross Hospital, staff discharged him. Snider apparently felt he should not have been released. Police say he yelled and cursed at staff, was told to leave, was told not to come back, and then returned anyway. He allegedly threatened an employee, telling them he would 'kick your a**.'
Snider was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, and threatening violence. He has since been released. As of now, formal charges have not been filed.
The tour is off, indefinitely
After the arrest, his team pulled the plug on the whole run. Aimless Inc. posted the update to Snider's social pages, saying he was seriously hurt and will be out for an unknown stretch.
'We are heartbroken to announce the cancellation of the High, Lonesome and Then Some 2025 Tour dates. Ahead of Todd Snider's show in Salt Lake City, Todd sustained severe injuries as the victim of a violent assault outside of his hotel. Todd will be unable to perform for an undetermined amount of time. We deeply apologize for the cancellation and any inconvenience it causes. We appreciate your understanding as Todd receives needed medical treatment. We hope to have more information on new dates soon.'
All the cities that just went dark
- Late 2025: West Hollywood, San Francisco, Napa, Santa Cruz, and Eugene (CA); Portland (OR); Seattle and Spokane (WA); Missoula and Bozeman (MT); Pelham (TN)
- Early 2026: Chattanooga and Knoxville (TN); Charlotte (NC); Fernandina Beach, Clearwater, and Boca Raton (FL), with dates running into early February 2026
Zooming out: Snider has a long history of turbulence
If you have followed Snider for any length of time, the new incident unfortunately sits on a long timeline of highs and crashes.
Back in 1997, he first checked into rehab after, in his own telling to the New York Times, using morphine heavily to dull chronic back pain. Around that same stretch he wrapped his third album, Viva Satellite (on Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville imprint), a bid to lean more rock. The music industry fallout came fast: in 1998, after a private showcase in Los Angeles where he insulted label folks and walked off early, MCA dropped him. It was a career face-plant right when he might have had a shot at real radio play.
He landed at Oh Boy Records and steadied a bit, but relapsed in 2003 after a close friend died, getting hooked on OxyContin and checking into rehab again. The rebound record, 2004's East Nashville Skyline (Oh Boy), gave him the best reviews of his life, thanks in part to a singalong that cheekily put buttoned-up conservative Christian, right-leaning straight white guys on one side and the tree-hugging, peace-and-pot crowd he proudly lines up with on the other. Even then, a few months later, he found himself back in treatment.
Run-ins with the law have doubled as material. He was arrested in Tillamook, Oregon, after a dust-up with a construction worker who accused him of flipping the bird and driving recklessly. That turned into the song 'Tillamook County Jail' on East Nashville Skyline. Local officers reportedly found him more charming than criminal and treated the whole thing as a goofy story rather than a crisis.
In 2008, he was busted for marijuana in Greencastle, Indiana, and spun that midlife humiliation into 'Greencastle Blues,' the anchor of his 2009 album The Excitement Plan. He described feeling more embarrassed at getting caught than at the weed itself, and the record zoomed out to how working people numb pain and hardship in all the usual, imperfect ways.
How he talks about addiction
Snider has never sold himself as a guy with answers. In 2009 he told the New York Times he did not want fans looking to him for a cure-all. He pushed back on the idea of being permanently defined by addiction, said he still smokes weed without guilt, and that hard drugs have not pulled him in a long time. He does not do group meetings, but he does therapy, and even joked on record about wishing for more actionable advice from his shrink.
Where this leaves things
Right now, there is no timeline for a return to the stage. Police have not verified Snider's assault claim, he was arrested Sunday after the hospital incident, and formal charges have not yet landed. Given the injuries and the legal cloud, do not expect a quick restart. If that changes, I will update.