Walk the Moon have parted ways with their long-time bassist Kevin Ray, as per a shared statement with fans posted to Instagram.

The band captioned the Instagram post with a simple message: “moving into a new chapter. Kevin is no longer a member of the band. Sean, Eli, and I are continuing as WALK THE MOON. you are our community, and we love you. <+>”

The band’s singer Nicholas Petricca expanded in the statement on Monday, December 21st, to explain the news: Hi everyone, as the founder of Walk the Moon I can say, unquestionably, that it’s been this band’s lifelong commitment to create a safe, welcoming place for our audience, always. And if anything ever comes to our attention that contradicts that, we take action and do something about it,” he said.

“Unfortunately, now is one of those moments. We’ve received some firsthand information that leads us to conclude that Kevin Ray has acted out of alignment of our values. Kevin’s been a part of this band for 10 years, but at this time it’s become clear that we must part ways.

After very serious discussion and consideration, we’ve decided that from this point forward Kevin will no longer be a member of Walk the Moon. To be clear, that means he won’t be performing on any new music we release in the future, including the album that we’ve been recording this year.”

Comments were immediately disabled on the Instagram post, “out of respect for everyone’s privacy.”

Petricca finished the message to fans: “This is a very difficult and upsetting moment for us, and we imagine it might be for you, too. We are sad, and we are taking a moment to reflect, to grieve, but Eli and Sean and I are going to keep being Walk the Moon and keep making music from our souls. You are our community; we love you. Thank you so much for listening.”

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