The Detroit Cobras' Rachel Nagy has died, band says

This story has been updated to correct the original date of the Detroit Cobras El Club concert.

Rachel Nagy of the rock band the Detroit Cobras has died, according to bandmate Greg Cartwright.

The death was announced Saturday in a statement posted on the group's Instagram page.

"There are no words to fully articulate our grief as we remember a life cut short, still vital and inspirational to all who knew and loved her," Cartwright said. "More than just a performer, she embodied the spirit of the music itself and vaulted it to new heights with her own deeply affecting vocal power."

The cause of death has not been released. 

The band's show at El Club in Detroit, originally scheduled for Jan. 7, was pushed back to Feb. 19 due to a surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the group's Instagram. 

Cartwright said the band will post more information on their page once arrangements to pay tribute and memorialize Nagy have been finalized by the family.

Nagy, whose age wasn't given, has led the Cobras on stage since the mid-1990s, and the band is known for covering obscure soul and R&B gems. The five piece had frequent lineup changes, but the core of the band was Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez. 

The Detroit Cobras recorded for independent labels throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, including Sympathy for the Record Industry where they were labelmates with the White Stripes. Later the White Stripes' Jack White would release material by the Cobras on his own Third Man Records label.

"In both her voice and personality, Rachel Nagy was the perfect balance of tough badass and absolute sweetheart," reads a statement from Third Man Records.

"From the earliest White Stripes shows at the Magic Stick in Detroit through the Third Man 10th anniversary show in Nashville, Rachel and the Detroit Cobras have been a consistent inspiring presence in our world for nearly 25 years. We will truly miss the sound of her room-filling laughter, her no bull---- honesty, and her true friendship. Rest in power."

Nagy is survived by her brother, Tony, and her mother, Marge Nagy. 

"Please know that if you are as devastated by this news as we are, you are not alone," Cartwright said.