Ryan Bingham performed at the Country Calling Festival in Ocean City, Maryland, on October 5, 2025, delivering a set of 10 songs to attendees on the event’s final day. The singer-songwriter and actor, known for his role as Walker in the television series “Yellowstone,” shared the Sunday lineup with headliner Luke Combs, Koe Wetzel, Gary Allan, Gavin Adcock and others at the beachside venue. His appearance capped the three-day festival, which ran from October 3 to 5 and featured more than 25 artists across three stages on the Ocean City Inlet Beach and boardwalk.
Bingham’s setlist opened with “Nothin’ Holds Me Down,” followed by “Jingle and Go” and “Tell My Mother I Miss Her So,” the latter from his work with The Dead Horses. He continued with “The Lucky One,” “Sunrise,” “Hallelujah” (another Dead Horses track), “Americana,” “Bluebird” (Dead Horses), “Southside of Heaven” and closed with “Bread and Water.” The performance aligned with the festival’s focus on country music, drawing crowds to the coastal setting that included local food vendors, boardwalk attractions and amusement rides at Jolly Roger At The Pier.
The Country Calling Festival marked its second year in 2025, building on its inaugural event with a mix of established and emerging country acts. Organizers highlighted the beach and boardwalk stages, with Sunday’s schedule placing Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen from 6 to 7 p.m. on the Scoot stage, ahead of Koe Wetzel’s set. Other days featured Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Brooks & Dunn and additional performers like Gabby Barrett, Stephen Wilson Jr., Chase Matthew, Margo Price, The Castellows, Colby Acuff, Laci Kaye Booth and Thelma & James. The event emphasized a Southern vibe amid Maryland’s coastal environment, with tickets available for general admission and VIP packages.
Bingham, born George Ryan Bingham on March 31, 1981, in Hobbs, New Mexico, grew up across West Texas and Houston before entering the rodeo circuit as a bull rider in his late teens. He learned guitar around age 17, hitchhiking to Laredo, Texas, and later moving to Stephenville, where he rode on Tarleton State University’s rodeo team and began performing locally. A stint in France with Disneyland Paris’s Wild West Show preceded his formation of Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses in Fort Worth, Texas, after an impromptu gig caught the attention of producer Marc Ford of The Black Crowes.
His music career launched with self-released albums “Wishbone Saloon” and “Dead Horses” before signing with Lost Highway Records for his 2007 major-label debut, “Mescalito,” produced by Ford and featuring singles “Southside of Heaven” and “Bread and Water.” Bingham’s second album, “Roadhouse Sun,” arrived in 2009, followed by collaboration with T Bone Burnett on the “Crazy Heart” soundtrack, where he co-wrote and performed “The Weary Kind.” That song earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2010, shared with Burnett, along with a Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Award, Grammy and other honors.
Subsequent albums included “Junky Star” in 2010, which reached number two on the U.S. Country chart and number 19 on the Billboard 200; “Tomorrowland” in 2012, his first on his Axster Bingham Records label; “Fear and Saturday Night” in 2015; and “American Love Song” in 2019, featuring “Wolves,” inspired by March For Our Lives students and later performed on “Yellowstone.” Bingham released a live album, “Ryan Bingham Live,” in 2016, and an EP, “Watch Out For The Wolf,” in 2023 via Thirty Tigers. His genres span Americana, country, folk and rock, with him handling vocals, guitar, harmonica and keyboard.
In acting, Bingham debuted as Tony in “Crazy Heart” in 2009, appeared in “Jackie & Ryan” and “A Country Called Home” in 2015, and played Sergeant Malloy in “Hostiles” in 2017. Since 2018, he has portrayed Walker, an itinerant ranch hand, in 23 episodes of “Yellowstone” through 2024, also contributing music to the series. Bingham received a 2021 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for the show.
Beyond recording, Bingham launched The Western music festival in 2019 with Live Nation, starting in Luckenbach, Texas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he shared covers and originals via YouTube’s Cantina Sessions in 2020. He has performed at events like Austin City Limits Festival in 2010 and 2011, and more recently at Railbird Festival in 2025, where his set blended country soul elements. Bingham married “Yellowstone” co-star Hassie Harrison on October 7, 2023, at her family estate in Dallas, Texas. His discography includes music videos for tracks like “The Weary Kind,” directed by Danny Clinch, and “Wolves,” which he directed himself.
Bingham’s early experiences in rodeo and travel inform his songwriting, evident in songs like “Southside of Heaven,” written in a Stephenville trailer. Based in Los Angeles as of recent years, he maintains a website at [http://ryanbingham.com] for updates on tours and releases. His 2025 festival appearances, including Country Calling, continue a pattern of live performances at venues like Whitewater Amphitheater and Austin City Limits broadcasts. Festival-goers at Ocean City experienced his blend of lived-in lyrics and instrumentation, drawing from a catalog that has earned critical acclaim and commercial success on charts.
