Who Is the Band Playing Creed + Cheap Trick Covers at the RNC?

For those wondering if Creed had performed at the 2024 Republican National Convention, that was actually the Nashville-based band Sixwire who were taking those in attendance “higher” as Donald Trump left the floor to the rock radio favorite Tuesday night (July 16).

The veteran band have been earning some raves from viewers on the X social media platform, delivering a mix of rock and country favorites to fill time between speakers. And when we say “fill time,” they apparently were more than up to the task when RNC speaker Mike Johnson had a teleprompter failure that led the band to have to fill around 20 minutes, giving them an unexpected spotlight. One fan noted on social media, “This may be the most guitar riffs I have ever heard at Fiserv Forum.”

Who Are Sixwire?

As stated, they’re a veteran group having formed in 2000. The band consists of singer-guitarist Andy Childs, keyboardist Steve Hornbeck, bassist John Howard, guitarist Steve Mandile and drummer Chuck Tilley.

This isn’t the band’s first high profile performance by any stretch. They’ve previously served as the house band for USA Network’s Nashville Star, have appeared on FOX’s Next Great American Band, CMT’s Next Superstar and worked on ABC’s music-themed drama Nashville.

READ MORE: 20 Artists Who Told Politicians to Stop Using Their Music

That music competition background certainly helped out as they have played a mix of music from Collective Soul, Doobie Brothers, Foo Fighters, Cheap Trick, Grand Funk Railroad, Tom Cochrane, John Mellencamp, Loverboy, Journey, Smash Mouth, 38 Special and more, with some of the performances shared on social media below.

The band has also appeared at three Super Bowls, played the Daytona 500, the NHL All-Star Game and were the house band for the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville.