In an impressively brief span of time, independent troubadour Rhett Repko has built an imposing body of original music without the support of a record label, earning a reputation as both a singularly compelling performer and a songwriter of rare insight and emotional resonance. In the process, he’s earned the loyalty of a growing fan base that continues to support his heartfelt, personally-charged songcraft.
“Music has the ability to deliver raw, unfiltered emotions from one person to another,” the Annapolis, MD native states, adding, “Records today tend to be produced to perfection, but those aren’t the ones we love, and they’re not the kind of records that I want to make.”
Since he began releasing music in 2017, Repko has issued 38 original songs over four EPs, one album, and a series of singles. As he’s expanded his songbook, his popularity has exploded on social media and on AAA and noncommercial radio, allowing him to expand his grass-roots fan base and build impressive numbers of followers on such key platforms as Facebook and Instagram, while racking up 6.2+ Million streaming numbers on Spotify, Youtube and Facebook video.
In addition to scoring no less than five Top 100 college radio hits and receiving support from over 300 College, Community, AAA, and International Stations, Rhett scored on the influential FMQB charts with his songs “Late Nights,” “Don’t You Know?,” A Broken Song” and “I Don’t Wanna Talk To You,” while “I Don’t Wanna Talk to You,” “Can Someone Help Me Now?,” “Thnx for the Ride” and “Songs of the Night” achieved prominent placements in the influential Northern American College and Community (NACC) chart. “I Don’t Wanna Talk to You” was the #1 most added single on the NACC chart. Rhett Repko also landed on the Triple A BDS Chart twice with “Can Someone Help Me Now?” at #95 and “Late Nights” at #107.
Rhett’s songs have also made significant inroads in television, having been licensed by such high-profile networks as Vice, MTV, Netflix, Discovery, NASCAR, E!TV, Oxygen, A&E, TLC, Fox Sports, OWN and USA.
Repko first became obsessed with music while in middle school, learning to play guitar while obsessively studying the albums of the Beatles and Nirvana and using the internet to expand his musical knowledge. Attending college at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, intensely studying production and expanding his knowledge of the recording medium while studying under Grammy-nominated engineer/producer Alan Wonneberger and graduating magna cum laude.
Rhett formed his first band, touring throughout the United States, while continuing to pursue the sound and vision that he heard in his head. After self-producing his first two EPs, he began recording in Nashville with such notable studio collaborators as Grammy-nominated producer Chris Grainger, multiple Grammy-winning engineer Chris Gehringer and acclaimed producer Zodlounge, employing a personalized mix of retro and modern techniques while honing his songwriting and arranging skills. He is now currently working with Mark Needham (Imagine Dragons, Killers).
Beyond the various production approaches that he’s explored, Repko maintains, “It’s about the song. Is it good enough? Does it make you feel something? It’s not about fame. It’s about the struggle to be understood.”
Rhett derives his greatest satisfaction from his one-on-one engagement with his fans, and from the personal connections that he’s developed with his listeners. Those relationships reflect the same drive to communicate that fuels his music.
“Each time a new song comes out, I grow as an artist and I get new fans,” Rhett asserts. “With that in mind, I’m looking to keep it going and always have new music coming out. I’ve been writing nonstop, and plan to continue doing so.”