New Found Glory Will Play Six EPCOT Sets Monday and Tuesday Using Setlists Chad Gilbert Worked Out Before He Died

New Found Glory is scheduled to be on the America Gardens Theatre stage at EPCOT on Monday and Tuesday, playing six sets that Chad Gilbert helped build. Gilbert, the band's lead guitarist and backing vocalist, died on September 20 at 45. He had already worked out the setlists with the band.

The band confirmed this week that the shows are going ahead.

The quick version: Gilbert died September 20 after several years of cancer diagnoses. The band is canceling its Aftershock Festival appearance to grieve, but will still play all six of its Eat to the Beat sets at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival on September 28 and 29. Every setlist is one Gilbert worked out with the band. The band published all six early, because releasing them ahead of time was the plan it had made with him. Set one includes the band's cover of "Part of Your World."

The band is canceling Aftershock and keeping the six EPCOT sets

New Found Glory wrote on social media that it is pulling out of Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, where it had been booked for the festival's opening day on October 1, to give its members time to process and grieve. The EPCOT dates are going ahead anyway, and the band was direct about why: Gilbert, in the band's words, "was a massive Disney fan."

From the band's statement, as published by WDW News Today:

"Our shows at Epcot were dates he was so excited for and he was actively planning to be on stage with us there. He had already worked on the setlists with us and was practicing as much as possible to be ready. Because of how much he wanted to play these shows, taking the stage at Epcot feels like the right way to honor him, and what he would want us to do. Our plan from the beginning with him was to announce our Epcot sets ahead of time, so we feel it's only appropriate to share them with you now as we prepare to play in his memory."

The statement goes on: "Every note we play and every word you sing at Epcot is for Chad."

What is on set one

The graphic the band released for the first set lists seven songs, grouped by two horizontal rules: "Something I Call Personality," "All About Her" and "A Love Song," then "Failure's Not Flattering" and "Dressed to Kill," then "Part of Your World" and "My Friends Over You." The background art is a pale drawing of Spaceship Earth.

"Part of Your World" is a cover, and it has a history with the band. New Found Glory recorded the song for Disney's pop-punk covers album A Whole New Sound.

What Gilbert said about recording the song

In 2024, talking about the band's approach to the song, Gilbert said:

"In approaching this song, I sat with the lyrics and melodies for a while. I realized that to make people feel what Ariel's feeling, we needed to match the energy of the music with the rebellious thoughts of the song, along with her hope for adventure. When she sings about wanting to dance, the music is upbeat and fun, but when she expresses her longing for freedom, the rhythm drops so you really feel the pull of the heart. Our band's biggest goal has always been to show and encourage young adults, the young at heart, and any person that has a dream but faces self-doubt that there is another world out there that will accept them for exactly who they are. To not be afraid to take the next step."

What his family and the band announced

Gilbert died "peacefully in his sleep," according to the announcement his wife, Lisa Cimorelli, and the band made on September 20. Their statement said he "left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished," and added, "We are devastated and shocked by how quickly he left us, yet so grateful for how peacefully and smoothly he went."

He had been diagnosed with cancer several times over the previous five years, the most recent a stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma. He was 45.

If you are going

Eat to the Beat concerts run at the America Gardens Theatre, with three shows each evening at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. Three shows a night across two nights is where the six sets come from. Each dining package includes a meal at one of the participating restaurants, plus a guaranteed seat at a concert that same evening.

The 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival runs through November 21.

Sources

• WDW News Today, "New Found Glory Still Performing at EPCOT to Honor Late Lead Guitarist Chad Gilbert"
• Loudwire, "New Found Glory to Honor Late Guitarist Chad Gilbert With Shows at Disney World"
• WDW News Today, "Full Guide to the 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival" (venue, showtimes and festival dates)

Image credits: Chad Gilbert performing and the America Gardens Theatre stage, via WDW News Today. Setlist graphic, New Found Glory.