Michael Marcagi, homegrown in the Queen City and a “Midwest Kid” at heart, has had a whirlwind of a year. With the release of his solo debut single, “The Other Side,” in December 2023 and then “Scared to Start” in January 2024, the singer-songwriter could not have predicted what would follow.
Before Marcagi’s rise to solo fame, he was a member of The Heavy Hours, a local alt-rock band formed with four other members who Marcagi knew from when he attended Anderson High School. After releasing their “Wildfire” EP in August 2021 and full-length album Gardens in February 2022, Marcagi decided to venture out on his own, marking the beginning of his solo journey.
He especially could not have foreseen going viral on TikTok, breaking into the Billboard Hot 100 charts in February 2024 and performing at places like the Out of the Blue festival this year in Cancún, Mexico, alongside artists like The Lumineers, Rainbow Kitten Surprise and Noah Kahan.
Marcagi’s skyrocket into stardom had much to do with the singer-songwriter’s ability to capture his Midwestern experiences, which have influenced all areas of his life both in and outside of his career. After embarking on his “Flyover State” tour and opening for The Lumineers’ North American and European tour this year, Marcagi is no stranger to the restless life of a musician. While incredibly grateful for the opportunity and ability to bring his music to different areas of the world, this life is not all glitz and glamour. “I have only been home and slept in my own bed a few weeks out of the entire year, so it definitely [has] been really fast-paced,” Marcagi tells CityBeat.
Not being able to see his family and friends while out on the road gets exhausting, especially with such a strong connection to his hometown of Cincinnati. “I haven’t seen my friends and family all that much. [I’ve] been out on the road so much [that] it can feel a little bit exhausting when you’re waking up in a new city and you don’t even know where you are,” he says.
Being on the road does have its perks, though. With all of the traveling and discovering new places, Marcagi is able to bring his hometown along on the ride through his interactions with Cincinnati outsiders. “I love being out on the road in a random place and getting a ‘Who Dey’ shoutout from off-stage. People love to talk about Skyline Chili,” Marcagi jokes.
His latest single, “Flyover State,” touches on Marcagi’s experiences with imposter syndrome and the feeling of belonging. “It was kind of just the sentiment of [being] this dumb kid from the Midwest trying to make it in the music industry,” Marcagi says. This sentiment is something that fans of the singer-songwriter relate to, as Marcagi’s emphasis on his upbringing and his roots in his songs – especially in his single, “Midwest Kid” – sheds light on topics that are often not touched on by many mainstream artists.
As Marcagi travels to new places, he gets mixed reactions when he tells people where he’s from. “I think Ohio [has] crept into the Gen Z vocabulary as a term for being ‘mid,’ or something like that,” Marcagi laughs. However, this is precisely what makes the singer’s music so special, especially for Midwest natives, who know firsthand what these places have to offer. “[It] touches on being from a place that no one seems to care about and [is] often overlooked and trying to have the confidence to go out and do what you do in different parts of the country,” he says.
As a musician, one of the biggest moments of your career comes when performing in front of the place that you grew up in. For Marcagi, this moment came at the Cincinnati venue Bogart’s, where he performed in June 2024. “[It] was literally one of the highlights of my entire life,” Marcagi explains. “It was filled, and seeing so many friends, family members and people that I haven’t talked to since high school and even grade school that have come out and supported me [was] really cool.”
This feeling is somewhat of a testament to Cincinnati, according to Marcagi. “We’re very good at being supportive of our own,” he says. This support has played a role in so many Cincinnati-native musicians’ careers, and Marcagi is no stranger to this phenomenon. “Hopefully I’ll do another Cincinnati show, maybe in the summer or the fall after we get back from Europe with Lumineers. That’d be awesome,” he says.
Even after traveling around the world throughout the past year, Marcagi has never forgotten his hometown and the people in it. The singer’s journey from zero to 100 has only made it more apparent how staying true to his roots and sharing his experiences with people around the world is what makes his blooming career evergreen. With this, his passion for where he comes from only strengthens. “I’m very glad and proud to be from there, and that’s where I go back [to] after all these tours,” he says. “That’s where I live, and I really miss it. I’m excited to get back home to Cincinnati.”
Marcagi’s upcoming EP, Midwest Kid, will be released on April 18. For more information about Michael Marcagi, visit michaelmarcagimusic.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s April 2 print edition.
Related Stories
500 Indie Songs, 3 Days: Inhailer Radio’s Epic Countdown Returns
Cincinnati Band Lung to Release New Album ‘The Swankeeper’
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2025.