On Friday, country artist RVSHVD (pronounced RA-SHAD) will take on Barnato with his unique sound. He utilizes a variety of musical influences as well as his iconic vocal tonality to produce music that combines country twang with rock and R&B influences. “It’s just being not afraid to show what other music has influenced me over the time,” RVSHVD said in reference to his sound. He credits Brooks & Dunn, Chris Stapleton, Alan Jackson, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar as his current music influences.
The song that sparked his initial love for country was “Sweet Thing” by Keith Urban. “Because it was different from everything else and all the stereotypes I heard about country music…I found a sweet thing, and I was like it ain’t that bad,” RVSHVD claimed, referencing how he was not a big country music fan growing up.
He hails from a small town, Willacoochee, GA, with a population of only 1200. “I had some town support, but it’s different when you come from a small town, because it’s like if you’re bad ,everyone’s going to say you’re good because it’s a small town. So, when you get out into the real world, and you get all this negativity, it’s like, ‘Damn everyone back home said I was good,’” RVSHVD said.
However, coming from a small town didn’t bring him too much negativity in the “real world,” RVSHVD became nationally known for his country remix of Riddy Ricch’s “Ballin” after the song went viral. Through TikTok, Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, he drove in over 25 million streams on all platforms. His fan base is constantly growing through social medial, with 1.5 million followers on TikTok and consistently having content go viral on Instagram.
With his social media rooted fan base, the rush of performing live is being able to “put a face to the numbers,” RVSHVD exclaimed.
Even as RVSHVD didn’t like country as a kid, he spoke about how his younger self would react to his career saying, “He would like the way I do it.” Country fans and those who aren’t country fans yet will be inspired by the way RVSHVD does it this Friday at Barnato, a concert not to miss out on.
RVSHVD performs Friday, August 16, at 8 pm at Barnato, 225 N 170th St. For more information and tickets, visit barnato.bar.
