lit a candle 4h agomy algorithm fed me one of his acoustic covers back in the spring and I ended up down a rabbit hole for an hour, then I found out he'd started his own little festival for local musicians out of nothing. that's the part that gets me, 22 and already building something for other people. told my husband about it over dinner tonight, he'd never heard of him either.
Their story
CJ Beach was a young singer, songwriter and guitarist from the Tallahassee, Florida area whose blend of country and southern rock had made him one of the most talked about young performers in Florida's Big Bend. He fronted the band CJ & the Deadmen, built a following with stripped down…
CJ Beach was a young singer, songwriter and guitarist from the Tallahassee, Florida area whose blend of country and southern rock had made him one of the most talked about young performers in Florida's Big Bend. He fronted the band CJ & the Deadmen, built a following with stripped down acoustic covers that he shared online, and founded the Deadman Walking Festival, a grassroots showcase for musicians from Wakulla County and Tallahassee. He died in a car crash in Wakulla County in the early hours of Saturday, November 7, 2026, a few hours after playing a Friday night show in Panacea. He was 22.
Beach was described by local television as a Panacea local, and news reports after his death called him a Tallahassee musician. His full legal name, date of birth and details of his schooling have not been made public. His father is Charles Beach.
Music was, in his own words, the way he showed his emotions. "It's the thing that, like, if I'm having a bad day, it's hard for me to internalize those emotions and even work through anything. And music helps that a lot," he told WTXL ABC 27 in April 2026. "It's a catalyst for growth for me."
On YouTube his channel, credited to C.J. Beach, carried acoustic covers such as Oliver Anthony's "Ain't Got A Dollar" (October 2024) and "House of the Rising Sun" (November 2024), the latter posted as a CJ & the Deadmen cover with a note that new songs called "Blackbird", "Up Above" and "Father" were coming soon. In December 2024 the band sat down with hosts Jade and Rob on the Off The Record Podcast, which introduced them as a young but talented group. Over the next two years Beach played a steady run of local rooms, from Riverside Cafe in St. Marks and The Sound Bar in Tallahassee to Lake Tribe Brewing Company, where he played a duo show with Lori Green of Sinners + Saints in March 2026, Cafe de Martin and Cancun's Sports Bar and Grill.
He was just as committed to the musicians around him. Beach founded the Deadman Walking Festival after noticing that Wakulla County had a smaller music scene than Tallahassee, and set out to give artists from both places somewhere to play. "It's kind of just trying to have like a melting pot of the two music communities," he said, "and have some kind of a middle ground where we can all come together and enjoy the same things and meet the same people." The fifth edition took place on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at the Palaver Tree Theater in Crawfordville, with Banquet headlining and Madden Metcalf, The Deadmen, Palace Rats, Blairstone, Anemoia and Apalach Sound on the bill. He urged local people to come out, saying that community support motivates bands and shows them they are reaching people beyond their usual fan groups.
On Friday night, November 6, 2026, Beach played at The Salty Donkey in Panacea. At about 1:15 a.m. on November 7, according to the Florida Highway Patrol as reported by WCTV and the Tallahassee Democrat, a 22 year old Tallahassee man driving north on Rehwinkel Road near Oakwood Trail in Crawfordville left the road and struck several trees, and died at the scene. Beach's father later wrote that CJ's wreck was on the curve on Rehwinkel, in the same spot as an earlier crash, and asked residents to press county commissioners for warning lights and signs on both sides of that curve in his son's memory.
Tributes came quickly. Tallahassee radio station X101.5 called him one of the most talented young musicians the area had seen in a long time. The band Sawgrass Zoo wrote that the world had lost "an amazing talent and a wonderful human being," and Sinners + Saints said his passion for music was felt by everyone who had the honor of hearing him sing and play. His death was covered beyond Florida by That Eric Alper, Wide Open Country and Syracuse.com. Funeral or memorial arrangements had not been made public at the time of writing.
Biography adapted from WTXL ABC 27 (April 2, 2026); WCTV and Tallahassee Democrat (November 7, 2026); That Eric Alper, Wide Open Country and Syracuse.com (November 9, 2026); MusicLocal.org listings; YouTube.
In their own words
“It's the way that, like, I show my emotions to people. It's the thing that, like, if I'm having a bad day, it's hard for me to internalize those emotions and even work through anything. And music helps that a lot. Like, it is almost a catalyst for progression. It's a catalyst for growth for me.”
On what music meant to him, WTXL ABC 27, April 2026
“So it's kind of just trying to have like a melting pot of the two music communities, and trying to bring them together, and have some kind of a middle ground where we can all come together and enjoy the same things and meet the same people.”
On why he founded the Deadman Walking Festival, WTXL ABC 27, April 2026
“Not only does it motivate the bands, because they see that there's some support from their communities.”
Encouraging locals to support the festival, WTXL ABC 27, April 2026
“I appreciate all of the outpouring feelings and thoughts about my son CJ. Seeing all the posts with pictures and videos kills me, but I know he was loved by many and will be missed.”
His father, Charles Beach, on Facebook, November 8, 2026
Photos
1CJ Beach
by People Forever
same, found him through a cover and stayed for the festival thing