A
veteran of the Indiana music scene, Bladen powers the
crowd at his shows with an atmosphere of party songs,
sing-alongs and a whole lot of audience participation.
A college favorite, Rusty has cultivated an extremely
loyal Midwestern fan base for his band and his solo
performances.
Rusty's solo show is a
high energy, freewheeling tour-de-force of Bladen
originals, songs from the radio, and some excellent hippie
country-rock tunes. The band show is an
exhibition of what five guys holding onto the same roots
rock and roll rope can pull an audience into. The band
shows are fun, rockin' and loud. The solo shows are fun,
rockin' and almost as loud.
Selling more than 15,000 copies of his original CD's,
Ride That RIver, Everything for Everybody, Rockin Your
Houseparty, Are You Happy Now? and Live Acoustic at
the Hoosier Theater, Bladen ranks as one of the best
selling independent artists in the state.
Recent Highlights:
•Rusty’s song, “Ride That River” was recorded with John
Mellencamp band members and appears in the MGM major
motion picture “Madison” soundtrack.
• Headlined the Jasper Strassenfest,
Swiss Wine Festival and recently opened for Fiction
Plane at the Mount Adams Music Fest in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Headlined events at Salem Speedway, WJAA Radio Bustock
in Seymour, Muscatatuck Blues Festival, Mellencamp
Festival.
• An acoustic version of "Molly's Song", a song about
missing person Molly Datillo (from Rusty''s hometown of
Madison, Indiana) has been released as a web-only MP3
offering at rustybladen.com and on Rusty's myspace page,
and has been downloaded more than 5,000 times since
2008.
• He released his most recent CD, "Feels Like
Christmas", in 2008. Produced by Dane Clark
(Mellencamp drummer), who also plays on it. The album
was mixed by the legendary Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle,
Lucinda Williams).
• Appeared on FOX 41 TV (Cincinnati).
• Rusty has performed at Verizon Music Center, opening
on the side stage for mainstream artists like Train,
Hootie & the Blowfish, Don Henley, Tim McGraw, & Kenny
Chesney and has opened for Todd Snider, James McMurtry
and Kansas and during May at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway.
•Song list of over 400 popular cover
songs and original music, performing solo or full band.
He has an email list of 2,000 area fans and friends.
