Rusty Bladen is an Indiana singer/songwriter, whose song "Ride That River", appeared in the 2001 MGM film "Madison"

Madison (film)

Madison is a semi-fictional 2001 film about APBA hydroplane racing in the 1970s. It stars James Caviezel as a driver who comes out of retirement to lead the Madison, Indiana community-owned racing team.-Background:...

, starring Jim Caveziel, Jake Lloyd, Mary McCormack and Bruce Dern. Two of John Mellencamp's

John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...

 band members, Dane Clark (drums) and John E. Gee (bass), play on the song, and on the EP of the same name.

Bladen's song "Bakersfield Wine" was a finalist in the 2011 Chris Austin songwriting contest (country song), held at Merlefest

MerleFest

MerleFest is an annual "traditional plus" music festival held in Wilkesboro, North Carolina on the campus of Wilkes Community College . The festival, which is held the last weekend in April, is hosted by Grammy Award winner Doc Watson and is named in memory and honor of his son, Eddy Merle Watson,...

in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He and co-writer Mickey Clark performed the song on 29 April 2011 in finals competition, and finished third out of 1,500 entrants.