WHEELING, W.Va — West Virginia musician and poet Tucker Riggleman will be performing at Waterfront Hall on Saturday, April 4 with this alt-country band The Cheap Dates. Local indie rockers Stone Campus are also on the bill, which is being promoted by local artist Logan Schmitt’s Calcified Presents.
Riggleman has been a touring musician for the past 20 years, co-founding influential bands such as The Demon Beat (with Jordan Hudkins and Adam Meisterhans of Rozwell Kid) and Prison Book Club (with John R. Miller and William Matheny). The Cheap Dates finds him front and center as songwriter, guitarist and vocalist for a rowdy rock band featuring lots of twang. The band’s most recent album, 2024’s Restless Spirit, was recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Duane Lundy at The Lexington Recording Company in Kentucky and released by Charlottesville, Virginia-based indie label WarHen Records. The record was named Best Country Music on Bandcamp and garnered praise from outlets like Glide Magazine and the Nashville Scene.
Wheeling was home for Riggleman for about a year and a half between 2021-2022, during which time he worked as both a youth peer recovery specialist and marketing coordinator for Youth Services System, Inc. “I enjoyed my time living and working in Wheeling and still have many friends there today,” said Riggleman. “It’s always great to come through with the band and share some songs with this community. We’re really looking forward to the April 4 gig at Waterfront Hall!”
While the April 4 performance will be strictly music-based, Riggleman has earned some accolades for his writing recently. In 2025, he received a Literary Arts Fellowship for poetry from the West Virginia Creative Network (formerly the Tamarack Foundation for the Arts). His latest poetry collection, The Wind Through the Sycamores is a Violin, was released in late 2024, leading to poetry readings throughout the region (including live on the news), even landing him the keynote speaker gig at his hometown high school’s commencement in Moorefield.
“I’ve seen Tucker Riggleman & the Cheap Dates more times than I can count in venues across the city and state, and they put on a consistently amazing show every time,” says promoter Logan Schmitt, “Pairing them with the always incredible Stone Campus at my favorite local venue is just the icing on the cake. I’m very much looking forward to it.”
Doors open at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 4 at Waterfront Hall, with music beginning at 9 p.m. Attendees must be 18+. Advanced tickets can be purchased at waterfronthall.com.
