She was 54 years old when she passed.
Key Takeaways
- Mike Portnoy’s sister passed away on October 29, 2024, after a year of battling cancer.
- He received the news shortly before his Zagreb concert.
- Samantha was a vocal supporter of her brother throughout his long music career.
Mike Portnoy, the American musician best known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater, announced via Instagram that his sister tragically passed away on October 29, 2024.
Samantha Leone Cattaneo had been battling cancer for a year, and it took a turn for the worse over the past few days. She passed away only hours before Dream Theater’s Zagreb concert.
Mike’s brother broke the news to him only 30 minutes before he took the stage. A heartbroken Mike Portnoy, however, persevered and carried on through the show.
During the encore, lead vocalist James LaBrie informed the crowd about Samantha’s passing and dedicated “The Spirit Carries On” in her honor. The crowd paid their respects by waving their phone flashlights in the air.
Guitarist John Petrucci consoled Mike during the performance, sitting and shedding a tear beside him.
Samantha herself was a big Dream Theater fan. Mike Portnoy wrote on his Instagram caption,
My sister was always one of DT’s biggest fans & supporters and us reuniting meant sooooooo much to her. She wanted so badly to be in London but her health had declined so quickly that it was impossible for her to travel. But she told me she watched some videos of the show online in the hospital and I know how happy it made her.
INSTAGRAM
Samantha was one of the biggest supporters of her brother’s music career.
When Mike decided to leave Dream Theater in 2010, a band he co-founded and ran for 25 years, Samantha posted a message on his website.
She wrote,
Before I write this, understand that this is MY statement. Mike might kill me for speaking up, but I just can’t sit by quietly. I guess I’m like Mike in that way.
blabbermouth.net
He LOVES the other (DREAM THEATER) guys and their families. They have grown up together, married women that were (and are) best friends, have raised their kids as best friends. They are family.
This was not an easy decision for him as a drummer, founding band member (and band leader) or person.
She added that giving up the band was like “giving up a child” for Mike.
While Portnoy enjoyed side projects like working with Avenged Sevenfold, his decision wasn’t based on these opportunities. The rest of Dream Theater, however, opted to continue without him.
After leaving Dream Theater, Mike played with several bands and projects in various capacities. Some of his most notable tenures have been with Avenged Sevenfold, Adrenaline Mob, The Winery Dogs, Flying Colors, Transatlantic, Sons of Apollo, and The Neal Morse Band.
In the message, posted in 2010, she wrote that she was 40. When she passed, that would make her about 54 years old.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Mike Portnoy officially reunited with Dream Theater in October 2023 after a 13-year separation.
- Mike’s mother tragically died in a plane crash in 1984 when he was just 17 years old.
- Portnoy has won 31 awards from Modern Drummer magazine, including being the second youngest person to be inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame at the age of 37.
