Michael Marcagi

Originating from Cincinnati, Ohio, Michael Marcagi fronted the alt-rock group the Heavy Hours before venturing into solo territory with the EP American Romance, where introspective folk numbers such as the breakout single “Scared to Start” generated widespread viral momentum. He assembled the lineup that became the Heavy Hours while still in high school, scoring a novelty success via a full-band take on Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” in 2021. The band’s opening release, Wildfire, positioned them as an act worth following, spotlighting “Don’t Walk Away”—co-written with early supporter Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys—alongside “Desperate Days,” both of which resurfaced on the self-titled follow-up album issued in 2023. Later that year Marcagi opted to record alone, shaping a restrained, personal batch of folk-rock material. An unfinished fragment of “Scared to Start” posted in an online clip triggered an outpouring of fan shares and homemade renditions; once completed, the track appeared on pop charts in America, the U.K., and elsewhere, leading to the February 2024 release of his debut EP American Romance. The five-song set, built around the hit “Scared to Start,” entered Billboard’s Top 200 at number 195.