Keegan DeWitt (born April 8, 1982) is an American film composer, singer-songwriter, and actor. He was raised in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and now resides in Los Angeles. He is the lead singer of the indie rock band

Wild Cub Wild Cub is a Nashville-based indie rock band led by songwriter-composer Keegan DeWitt and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Bullock. Its supporting members are drummer Dabney Morris, bassist Harry West, and keyboardist and synthesist Eric Wilson. Th ...

, as well as a composer for film scores.

Early life

Keegan was born in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...

Film composing career

In 2005 DeWitt composed the score for ''New York Times'' Critic's Pick ''

Dance Party USA ''Dance Party USA'' is an American dance television show that aired on cable's USA Network from April 12, 1986, to June 27, 1992. It was originally a half-hour, but was expanded to an hour in 1987. The program was shot live television-to-video ...

'' and in 2007 he scored '' Quiet City'', which was also a ''NY Times'' Critic's Pick and

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with Poly(methyl m ...

nominee. DeWitt completed the score for ''

Cold Weather Cold weather may refer to: *Cold wave, a weather phenomenon distinguished by cooling of the air *''Cold Weather'', a 2010 American mystery film {{dab ...

'', which premiered at the 2010

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

film festival and was bought and released by IFC Films. He also took part in the 2013

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

with two films. The first was a documentary titled ''The Good Life'' BO directed by

Sean Fine Sean Fine is an American cinematographer, producer and film director whose film '' Inocente'' won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). He directs his films with his wife, Andrea Nix Fine. The Fines' first feature-length ...

and his wife Andrea Nix-Fine. The second was a narrative film titled ''This Is Martin Bonner'', directed by close friend

Chad Hartigan Chad Hartigan (born August 31, 1982 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a Cyprus-born, Irish-American filmmaker and actor. Early life Chad Hartigan was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1982. His father is from Limerick, Ireland, and his mother is from Sparks ...

. He has also done commercial work for Facebook, Merrell, Lincoln, Amtrak, Country Time Lemonade, Save The Children and others. He is also known in cycling world for his scores of the viral Rapha Cycling videos. Often collaborators include:

Barry Jenkins Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film ''Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Indep ...

, Aaron Katz,

Alex Ross Perry Alex Ross Perry (born July 14, 1984) is an American filmmaker and actor. Early life Perry was born to a Jewish family in 1984 and raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he worked on a local television news program during high school.Renninger, ...

, Brett Haley, Rapha and others. In 2013, DeWitt composed the score for

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning documentary short film ''

Inocente ''Inocente'' is a 2012 short documentary film directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix. The film received the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). The film is an inspiring coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old girl in California. ...

'', directed by Sean & Andrea Fine (''War/Dance''). In the same year he would also attend the

with 2 films. The first, '' This Is Martin Bonner'' by

, was the winner of the NEXT Audience Award, and the second ''

Life According to Sam ''Life According to Sam'' is an HBO original documentary film directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine. Premiering in January 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival, the documentary discloses the impact that progeria had on the lives of Sam Berns and ...

'' was produced in conjunction with HBO to air in the fall of '13. 2014 saw DeWitt taking two films to Sundance for a second year in a row. The first, ''

Land Ho! ''Land Ho!'' is a 2014 adventure comedy film, co-written and co-directed by Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz. The film made its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2014. It also screened at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, ...

'' (from executive producer

David Gordon Green David Gordon Green is an American filmmaker. He directed the dramas ''George Washington'' (2000), ''All the Real Girls'' (2003), and '' Snow Angels'' (2007), as well as the thriller '' Undertow'' (2004), all of which he wrote or co-wrote. In 2 ...

) reunited him with close friend and director Aaron Katz, alongside ''Pilgrim Song'' director

Martha Stephens Martha Stephens (born March 12, 1984) is an American film writer and director. Stephens was born in West Virginia and raised in eastern Kentucky. She graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Filmmaking, where ...

. The second, ''

Listen Up Philip ''Listen Up Philip'' is a 2014 comedy-drama film written and directed by Alex Ross Perry. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014, and won the Special Jury Prize at the 2014 Locarno International Film F ...

'', teamed him with director

and producers Washington Square Films and Sailor Bear, the latter composed of David Lowery and the team behind 2013 Sundance stand-out ''

Ain't Them Bodies Saints ''Ain't Them Bodies Saints'' is a 2013 American romantic crime drama film written and directed by David Lowery. The film stars Casey Affleck as Bob Muldoon, Rooney Mara as Ruth Guthrie and Ben Foster as Patrick Wheeler. Bob (Affleck) and Ruth ...

''. DeWitt premiered two films at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival: '' Unexpected'' (dir.

Kris Swanberg Kris Swanberg (born Kristin Williams, November 11, 1980) is an American businesswoman, filmmaker, actress and former high school teacher living in Chicago, Illinois. She has been credited at various times as Kris Williams, Kris Swanberg and Kris ...

), which was then released on July 24, 2015, in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

by The Film Arcade and '' I'll See You in My Dreams'' (dir. Brett Haley). He also premiered his second collaboration with

, ''

Queen of Earth ''Queen of Earth'' is a 2015 American psychological thriller film written, co-produced and directed by Alex Ross Perry. The film stars Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston and Patrick Fugit. Plot Catherine is in the midst of a breakup with her ...

'', at the 2015

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. In 2016 he composed the soundtrack for the 2017 movie The Hero starring Sam Elliott, Laura Prepon, Nick Offerman and Katharine Ross.

Recording career

Most recently, DeWitt has teamed with fellow Nashville, TN artist Jeremy Bullock to form

. They released their debut 13-song full length LP in August 2013 (January 2014 UK release) entitled "Youth". Their sophomore 11-song LP "Closer" was released in 2017. Wild Cub has been part of SXSW, Bonnaroo, CMJ and other prominent festivals and has received coverage from PASTE, MTVHive.com, Wall Street Journal, SPIN, IFC.com, RCRDLBL, The Line of Best Fit(UK), Clash Music (UK) and more. While working as an actor and composer in New York, DeWitt also began working as a performing songwriter in New York's Lower East Side. During this time he was developing demos and recording regularly with Roman Candle, a band featuring his sister Timshel, as well as her husband Skip Matheny and his younger brother Logan Matheny (also of

The Rosebuds The Rosebuds were an American indie rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina, that recorded and performed from 2001 to 2014. (Not to be confused with the vocal group of the same name who recorded for George Goldner's Gee Records in the 1950s.) It ...

) on drums. In 2010, Keegan released ''Nothing Shows'' under the

Daytrotter Daytrotter is a recording studio, music venue and subscription-based music discovery website located in Atlanta, United States. It hosts recording sessions with indie music acts. The original studio in Rock Island, Illinois, was founded in 2006 ...

label. '' Paste'' named him one of the 10 best solo artists of 2010 as well as Best of What's Next. Keegan's "Two Hearts" is the theme song to MTV's ''

Friendzone In popular culture, the friend zone (or friendzone) is a relational concept, describing a situation in which one person in a mutual friendship wishes to enter into a romantic or sexual relationship with the other person, while the other doe ...

'' series
He has songs featured in ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...

'', ''

Hart of Dixie ''Hart of Dixie'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on The CW from September 26, 2011, to March 27, 2015. The series, created by Leila Gerstein, stars Rachel Bilson as Dr. Zoe Hart, a New Yorker who, after her dreams of b ...

'', and ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

'' as a solo artist. His song "Say La La" was featured on a JC Penney and Joe Fresh ad during the 2013

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

telecast. He also composed the score for Facebook Watch original series "Sorry for Your Loss".

Discography

Film scores

* ''All The Stage is a World'' (2005) * ''

'' (2006) * '' Quiet City'' (2007) * ''Blackboard Bubble'' (2007) * ''Texas Snow'' (2008) * ''Luke and Brie Are on a First Date'' (2008) * ''Miss Ohio'' (2009) * ''The Mountain Crumbles'' (2009) * ''

Cold Weather Cold weather may refer to: *Cold wave, a weather phenomenon distinguished by cooling of the air *''Cold Weather'', a 2010 American mystery film {{dab ...

'' (2010) * ''No Matter What'' (2011) * ''Country Story'' (2011) * '' This is Martin Bonner'' (2013) * ''

'' (2013) * ''

'' (2014) * ''

'' (2014) * ''Koinonia'' (2014) * '' Unexpected'' (2015) * '' I'll See You in My Dreams'' (2015) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Morris from America'' (2016) * ''

Kate Plays Christine ''Kate Plays Christine'' is a 2016 American documentary film written and directed by Robert Greene. It follows actress Kate Lyn Sheil's preparation for the role of Christine Chubbuck, a newscaster who committed suicide on live television in 1974, ...

'' (2016) * ''

Hunter Gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

'' (2016) * ''

The Hero The Hero may refer to: Books * "The Hero" (poem), a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore * ''The Hero'' (novel), a science fiction novel by John Ringo and Michael Z. Williamson * '' The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama'', a book by Fi ...

'' (2017) * ''

Golden Exits ''Golden Exits'' is a 2017 drama film written, co-produced and directed by Alex Ross Perry. Starring Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz, Mary Louise Parker, Jason Schwartzman, Chloë Sevigny and Analeigh Tipton, it explores relationships and social c ...

'' (2017) * ''

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

'' (2017) * ''

The Long Dumb Road ''The Long Dumb Road'' is a 2018 American road trip comedy film written, directed and produced by Hannah Fidell and co-written by Carson D. Mell. It stars Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas, Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer, Casey Wilson, Pamela Reed, a ...

'' (2018) * ''

Hearts Beat Loud ''Hearts Beat Loud'' is a 2018 American comedy-drama music film directed by Brett Haley, from a screenplay by Haley and Marc Basch. It stars Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Sasha Lane, Blythe Danner and Toni Collette, and follows a Bro ...

'' (2018) * '' Making Babies'' (2018) * ''

Her Smell ''Her Smell'' is a 2018 American drama film written, co-produced and directed by Alex Ross Perry. It stars Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens, Agyness Deyn, Gayle Rankin, Ashley Benson, Dylan Gelula, Virginia Madsen and Amber Heard and ...

'' (2018) * ''

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

'' (2019) * ''

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions ...

'' (2019) * ''

All the Bright Places ''All the Bright Places'' is a young adult fiction novel by Jennifer Niven which is based on the author's personal story. The novel was first published on January 6, 2015 through Knopf Publishing Group and is Niven's first young adult book. A Al ...

'' (2020) * ''

A Teacher ''A Teacher'' is a 2013 American drama film written and directed by Hannah Fidell, in her feature directorial debut. It revolves around a female high school teacher's illicit sexual relationship with a male student that turns from infatuation in ...

'' (2020) * ''

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

'' (TBA)

References

External links

Keegan DeWitt
(official website)
Keegan DeWitt MySpace profile
*
Profile of DeWitt
in ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dewitt, Keegan 1982 births Living people People from Bend, Oregon People from Lake Oswego, Oregon American film score composers American male film score composers American rock singers American rock songwriters American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Oregon 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers