The band
About
The Rusty Halos are a Cincinnati Aggressive Americana trio — Joe Haas, Tommy Wessendarp, and Ryan Wells — writing songs about imperfect Midwesterners doing their best, even when their saintliness gets a bit rusty.
Short bio
The Rusty Halos are an Aggressive Americana band from Cincinnati, formed as an organic result of beautiful summer jam sessions in 2025. Fronted by Joe Haas, with Tommy Wessendarp on bass and Ryan Wells on his Legendary Hand Drums, the three men play songs about living life as imperfect Midwesterners doing their best, even when their saintliness gets a bit rusty. Their debut EP comes out October 3, 2026 on all platforms.
Long bio
The Rusty Halos are an Aggressive Americana band from Cincinnati. The trio formed as an organic result of beautiful summer jam sessions in 2025 — not a project assembled on paper, but three players who kept showing up until it was a band.
Joe Haas fronts the songs. Tommy Wessendarp holds the low end. Ryan Wells plays his Legendary Hand Drums. Together they write about living life as imperfect Midwesterners doing their best, even when their saintliness gets a bit rusty. That is the name: a halo that has seen some miles, still trying.
Home is the Queen City and the wider Midwest — river rooms, gorge roads, and the nights that stay loud. The debut EP arrives October 3, 2026 on all platforms.
Available for clubs, theaters, festivals, support slots, and rooms that still care about a live band.
Open the press kit
Lineup
Joe Haas
Vocals / Frontman
Fronts The Rusty Halos. Writes and sings the imperfect-Midwest stories.
Tommy Wessendarp
Bass
The low end. Holds the jam to the floor.
Ryan Wells
Legendary Hand Drums
Rhythm on the Legendary Hand Drums — the pulse that makes the trio hit.