Who Is Sixwire? All About the Band Who Performed at the 2024 RNC

Sixwire performed to one of the biggest crowds of their career this week when the band at the Republican National Convention (RNC) 2024 played a much longer set than they expected.

When House Speaker Mike Johnson was speaking onstage at the RNC, the teleprompter malfunctioned. Johnson walked offstage without finishing his remarks at the time, leading unexpectedly to Sixwire playing a nearly 45-minute show full of classic rock song covers.

Here's everything to know about Sixwire, the band who played at the RNC.

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Who is the band playing at RNC 2024?

Sixwire played at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The members of Sixwire are:

• Andy Childs, lead vocals and guitar

• Steve Hornbeak, keyboards and vocals

• John Howard, bass

• Steve Mandile, guitar and vocals

• Chuck Tilley, drums

Based in Nashville, Sixwire, who formed in 2000, are considered a local "supergroup," as most members have had solo careers or worked with high-profile artists.

Childs was a solo contemporary Christian and country artist signed to RCA Nashville in the '90s, while Mandile is a veteran songwriter for artists including Tim McGraw. Mandile, considered the musical brains behind the group, previously told Billboard that he wanted Childs to be the lead singer of the band, explaining, "I just don't feel like I have the ability to be a really good frontman. Between songs, I didn't have anything to say."

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Drummer Tilley has worked with Dolly Parton and "God Bless the USA" crooner Lee Greenwood. Members have also performed in bands for McGraw, Greenwood, Parton, Faith Hill, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, Olivia Newton-John, Phil Vassar, Alabama and Richard Marx, as well as with acts including Alice Cooper and the late Toby Keith.

A former member, Robb Houston, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and died in 2020, having previously left the band in 2016 to focus on his health.

Their collective pedigrees are seriously impressive: Sixwire was signed to Warner Nashville in 2002, with debut single "Look at Me Now" peaking at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and "Way Too Deep" hitting No. 55. The band's self-titled debut album peaked at No. 38 on Billboard's Country Albums chart. They performed on tour with McGraw, Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney and more.

The band and its members are event and TV regulars, having been the house band for ESPN's NFL Draft and CMT's Can You Duet and CMT's Next Superstar, musical guests for NBC's USA Figure Skating Championship, pre-game entertainers for Super Bowl 56 in Los Angeles and Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, Arizona, performers for All-American New Year's Eve on Fox and the Daytona 500 and as the backing band for Connie Britton's character Rayna James in Nashville. They also competed in USA's Next Great American Band, coming in second place.

Sixwire are also frequent performers for charity events, raising millions for causes including St. Jude and more.

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What band played at the Republican convention?

Sixwire was the band at the 2024 Republican convention. During their set, which was extended somewhat unexpectedly due to a teleprompter fail, they played a variety of classic rock and pop covers, including:

• 38 Special, "Caught Up In You"

• Cheap Trick, "I Want You to Want Me"

• Tom Cochrane, "Life Is a Highway"

• The Eagles, "Hotel California"

• Foo Fighters, "Learn to Fly"

• Grand Funk Railroad, "We're an American Band"

• Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'"

• John Mellencamp, "R.O.C.K. In The USA"

• Smash Mouth, "All Star"

The group also played songs by Steely Dan, Collective Soul and The Doobie Brothers, among others.

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