Musical performers include ‘American Idol’ winner, local acts

Posted by author September 5, 2024 Jobs

Bad Decision will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday during the 2024 Ohio River Sternwheel Festival in Marietta. (Photo provided)

A variety of live music will be featured during the 2024 Ohio River Sternwheel Festival, including local, regional and national artists.

Three years after becoming the only artist to win “American Idol” singing his own songs, 19 Recordings/Wheelhouse Records/BMG country artist Chayce Beckham still believes “You can’t tell someone how to write a song.”

A California native schooled on tough times and a mix of country, rock, hip hop and beyond, Beckham started a habit of heart-on-his-sleeve songwriting after some hard times when he felt he had nothing left. Combined with his warm vocal rasp on “23,” that drive helped him charm the nation on “Idol’s” 19th season in 2021.

Whitley Jean channels her past into music, diving into themes of love, heartbreak, poverty, addiction and healing while portraying characters from her past. The sound of Whitley Jean and her band is influenced by Americana, folk, pop and rock.

Cryin’ Out Loud is a rock blues band standing on the shoulders of musical greats like Albert King, Eric Clapton, J. Geils, Tommy Castro, Walter Trout, Rare Earth, Joe Bonamassa, Steppenwolf and Muddy Waters. The band includes lead guitarist and vocalist Eric Barkdull, drummer Mike Jessup, bassist Bob Stulka, saxophonist Eric Snyder, organist Robert Shipley, and rhythm guitarist and vocalist Dave Wilkes. As a group, they bring classic rock and blues to life on the live stage.

Chayce Beckham will perform at 9:30 p.m. Friday during the opening night of the 2024 Ohio River Sternwheel Festival in Marietta. (Photo provided)

Bad Decisions is known for blending hits from the 70s, 80s, to the newest chart-toppers. From the opening chords to the closing notes, Bad Decisions invites everyone to let loose and enjoy the music, coaxing them onto the dance floor.

Evan Cunningham is a singer-songwriter from Newport. He is a 2021 graduate of Frontier High School and 2024 graduate of Marietta College with a bachelor of arts degree in marketing and minor in strategic communication.

Cunningham discovered his love of music when his grandmother purchased a guitar at a local yard sale. He took informal lessons from a family friend before joining the group High Schools That Rock, in which he participated as a member and then volunteer instructor through his sophomore year of college. In 2019, he released his first EP, “Burnin’ Gas,” and followed that with a single in 2020 titled “December Ain’t So Cold.”

He continues writing and performing every chance he gets. He has played in restaurants, theaters and festivals in Marietta, Parkersburg and surrounding areas.

Evie Schaffer, born and raised in West Virginia, has quickly gained popularity in the Tri-State area with her Appalachian Country/Folk style performances.

Crying Out Loud will perform at 3 p.m. Saturday. (Photo provided)

With her rhinestoned guitar, Schaffer has performed across West Virginia at fairs, festivals and other venues.

Oyo’s high-energy performances are equal parts honky-tonk and barn dance, with an indie rock undercurrent. Born on the banks of the Ohio River, the six-piece Appalachian roots band formed from jam sessions in the back of Marietta’s JustAJar Design Press.

Featuring traditional acoustic instrumentation and driving rhythm, Oyo trades off lead vocals between Aaron Martin (fiddle, mandolin), Cole Adair (guitar) and Michael Bond (guitar, keys, harmonica, spoons), with Bobby Rosenstock (banjo), Drew Tanner (bass), and Joe Ryckebosch (drums, washboard) joining in.

Oyo take their name from the Iroquois word for the Ohio, meaning “beautiful river.”

Like that big muddy river, Oyo is fed by many influences and tributaries upstream: folk, bluegrass, old-school country and rock ‘n’ roll.