Van Arlo To Celebrate New Single's Release with Special Show at the Rialto Theatre

Local singer-songwriter Ben Marthey grew up listening to country music and played country music with his high school band. But as he developed his songwriting skills, he widened his musical interests, incorporating indie folk, alt-country and rock into his songs.

After getting married and having kids, he put his songwriting on the backburner to focus on family matters. He also became a Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) specializing in cardiac surgery.

But he couldn’t completely abandon his love for music. He joined the rock band Rosella for a while, and about three years ago, he reconnected with an old friend he knew from his college days at Baldwin Wallace and formed the indie folk act Van Arlo.

“We’re both very much into writing and recording,” he says via phone. “We started doing acoustic bar cover gigs, which we still do. That sparked the whole thing and reignited this passion I have for writing and performing.”

To date, Van Arlo has released a handful singles. The newest release, The Weight of Waiting, is a four-song studio EP recorded at Sta-Level studios in Fairlawn with Fifth Wheel guitarist Jeff Koval

“The songs I’m releasing tell stories about home, change, and the moments that shape us,” says Marthey. “They are deeply personal. ‘Can’t Go Home’ is at the heart of it. It’s a song about wrestling with the past and finding peace in where you are.” Another track from The Weight of Waiting, ‘Bury Me’ is a piano-driven reflection written during a dark time and still very applicable to current world events.”

For an upcoming release show that takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, at the Rialto Theatre in Akron, Van Arlo will play the tunes exactly as they were recorded. Locals Rye Valley along with singer-songwriters Charlotte Morris, Kayla Dunbar and Maura Streppa will share the bill.

“The theater is a beautiful place, and they’re very supportive of the local scene,” Marthey says. “It’s a happening place. The three female solo artists who will play are all Nashville touring artists. They’ll do a songwriter Nashville set. All three of them will be on stage, and they’ll go back and forth. They open the show. I have played those types of shows in Nashville, so it shows where I came from and what I started with.”

He’s also excited that Rye Valley is on the bill.

“I have a good friendship with another native band, Rye Valley, that is coming off their third national tour. They play throughout Northeast Ohio. They’ll play right before me. What will make the show very special is that I am playing with a full band, which is keyboard, bass, drums, and I also have a string quarter that will play with me.”

Prior to the Rialto show, the group will perform on Friday, March 14, on The Fox 8 Morning Show, and after the Rialto show, Marthey will play a solo show on Saturday, April 26, at the House of Blues Crossroads stage.

Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.