Edmonton man who touched millions with impromptu piano performance dies at home

Ryan Arcand, a musician who touched Edmontonians with his spontaneous piano performances — one of which became a YouTube hit in 2014 — passed away over the weekend, according to a family member.

Arcand was found dead at his home on Sunday.

In 2014, the man who hails from Alexander First Nation, became a YouTube sensation when video of him playing on a free outdoor piano in downtown Edmonton was posted by Roslyn Polard. Polard was walking in Churchill Square and asked if she could record him when she heard him playing an outdoor public piano. As of Tuesday night, the video had been viewed more than 11 million times.

Watch below: A video posted to YouTube in 2014, showing an Edmonton homeless man playing piano, went viral.

Other videos of Arcand have circulated on social media, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.

Arcand’s cousin told Global News the musician was born on the Alexander First Nation in 1971 but that he grew up in Edmonton.

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When Global News has spoken with Arcand in the past, he said he had spent about two decades on the streets and struggled with alcohol abuse, problems he said began following some personal tragedies.

“I quit my job. I quit everything,” he said. “I just wasn’t the same. I lived outside. I slept outside.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I quit my job. I quit everything," he said. "I just wasn't the same. I lived outside. I slept outside."

In 2015, Global News caught up with Arcand after he had moved into Ambrose Place, a transitional housing facility.

READ MORE: Homeless piano man now off Edmonton streets

Watch below: Ryan Arcand plays the piano at his new home in 2015.

“I like to inspire people who are still struggling like I was,” said Arcand, seated at a piano in Ambrose Place, “from being on the street, sleeping outside, going to shelters. Because I love people. I play for people.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I like to inspire people who are still struggling like I was," said Arcand, seated at a piano in Ambrose Place, "from being on the street, sleeping outside, going to shelters. Because I love people. I play for people.

“I’m not used to this,” he said of his newfound home. “Once in a while, when I’m in my room, I’ll think ‘do I really deserve this?’

“It’s an opportunity.”

Watch below: Eric Szeto filed this report about Ryan Arcand in 2015.

Arcand’s cousin said a funeral will be held for him on the Alexander First Nation on Saturday.

-With files from Emily Mertz