The Ohio boys are bringing their beautiful noise to Cincinnati.
On Aug. 24, Columbus-based band Caamp will be playing the only Ohio show on the second leg of their tour at the ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park.
Since the band released their debut album in 2016, their poignant descriptions of growing up in Ohio have been a major part of their music and identity — so much so that their unofficial band tagline is “Ohio Boys Making Beautiful Noise.”
Evan Westfall, Caamp’s co-founder and multi-instrumentalist, admitted that there is a bit of added pressure performing their music in front of local crowds.
“It’s like, even though there are people there who love you unconditionally, there’s still — at least for me personally — pressure to put on an even better show, especially when you always want to make longtime friends and family in the crowd proud,” Westfall told CityBeat.
Caamp was formed by Westfall and lead singer and songwriter Taylor Meier, who met at an Upper Arlington summer camp in middle school. Meier began playing music in coffee shops around Athens in 2013 while attending Ohio University. They later acquired three more band members: Joe Kavalec, Matt Vinson and Nick Falk.
In 2016, Caamp released their debut, self-titled album on Square Roots Records — a raw, Americana effort with moving songwriting and sparse instrumentation. Their second full-length effort, 2019’s By and By, is a warm, homespun meditation on love, longing and the places that shape us — from quiet porches and winding backroads to moonlit nights under wide-open skies. The songs are steeped in vivid, tactile moments; you can almost feel the summer air and smell the campfire smoke as the banjo strums on.
By and By helped secure Caamp’s debut on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart in 2019. The album also debuted at number one on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
The band gained even more attention for their 2022 album, Lavender Days, when former President Barack Obama included a song from the album, “Apple Tree Blues,” on his 2022 summer music playlist. That same year, Caamp was also nominated for 2023 Duo/Group of the Year by the Americana Music Association.
In June, Caamp released their fifth studio album, Copper Changes Color, which made it apparent from the louder, upbeat opening track, “Millions,” that fans were on a slightly different sonic journey this time around — one steeped in indie rock influences.
“By that point, Taylor was really into The Strokes and has been now for a while,” Westfall said. “You know, we’ve all had our Strokes phases. So Taylor started bringing in some of those songs. It was, like, super fun for me, because I honestly love The Strokes too, and it was fun to try to make songs like that.”
“Mistakes,” “One True Way” (featuring Madi Diaz), “Porchswing” and “Drive” are also reminiscent of The Strokes’ minimalist brand of indie rock. The album also takes some unexpected — and welcome — detours, like “Waiting Up (For You),” a lively Southern rock romp.
For listeners who aren’t fans of change, though, there are stripped-back songs that harken back to Caamp’s early, banjo-fueled days. Amid the more fast-paced indie rock tunes, “Fairview Feeling” is especially soft and soothing. Caamp also stays true to their roots in “Ohio’s Ugly,” another soft, folksy love song that playfully calls out their home state for being “all fields.”
“I think at the heart of part of the record, it’s still us, you know?” Westfall said. “They kind of are folk songs at the heart of it. If you shifted back and made it an acoustic guitar or banjo record, it would be there … It’s not the sound that we were known for, for the first couple years. We were off the road for a while, and we were trying to figure out how to fall back in love with making music and playing shows again, and so this is what was fun for us at the time. We’ve been having a lot more fun on the road this year.”
In early August, Ohio State University announced several updates to Ohio Stadium’s gameday experience — including pairing Caamp’s “Ohio” with an inspirational video played during the first half of games. Though not a traditional stadium banger, “Ohio” is full of pride for the state. “Football and tall trees, the autumn never ends, summer lovin / Ohio, treat me well,” Meier’s smoky, rich voice croons over a banjo and guitar.
Along with the rest of the band, Westfall is firmly embedded in the Midwestern music scene. In 2020, he co-founded Super Sport Records, an independent record label based in Columbus that releases music from surf, garage rock and power-pop in Ohio and throughout the Midwest.
During breaks from touring with Caamp, Westfall also tends to another professional pursuit — a growing solo career. In January, Westfall released his debut solo album, Is This Our Exit, a unique instrumental journey that helped him sharpen his creativity and musical focus. Not only did the solo album help propel his own career, but it also gave him some fresh ideas to take back to his band members.
“It’s just really healthy for us to all kind of have our own outlets like that,” Westfall said. “I was able to experiment with different tunings on the guitar for my stuff, and I was really excited to show the [Caamp] guys some open tunings. One of the songs off the new record, ‘Shade,’ was one of those open tunings. I ran over to Taylor’s house one day [because] I wanted to show him the open tuning, and we sat down and ended up writing that song that day.”
The last time Caamp visited Cincinnati was to open for The Lumineers at Riverbend Music Center in 2022. Westfall, whose wife is originally from Cincinnati, says that he is excited to return to the Queen City.
“I love Cincinnati,” Westfall said. “I’m really excited. I’m serious. I don’t say that all the time; like, we’re long overdue to be playing in Cincy and I’m just very excited to get out there.”
Caamp plays the ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park on Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. The Sam Fribush Organ Trio and Maggie Halfman open for the band. More info: bradymusiccenter.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Aug. 20 print edition.
This article appears in Aug 6-19, 2025.