Rising country music star CJ Beach dies at 22
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Tallahassee singer-songwriter CJ Beach died around 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, after his vehicle left Rehwinkel Road near Oakwood Trail in Crawfordville and struck several trees. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Hours earlier, he had played at The Salty Donkey in Panacea. The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash remains under investigation. Beach fronted CJ & the Deadmen, blending country and Southern rock, and founded the Deadman Walking Festival to showcase emerging local musicians.
His father, Charles, thanked those sharing memories while acknowledging how painful the photographs and videos were to see. He said a previous wreck had occurred at the same spot and urged residents to ask county commissioners for signs and lighting on the curve. “Please help me out,” he wrote. Tallahassee station X101.5 also paid tribute, remembering Beach as an exceptional young local talent and offering condolences to everyone touched by his music.
Beach built his music in the area where he lived and played. His band and festival both gave audiences a chance to hear musicians in person, in settings where the performers were often familiar to each other as well as to the people listening. The source describes his sound as a blend of country and Southern rock. That description helps place his work without reducing it to the circumstances of his death.
The performance at The Salty Donkey and the crash took place only hours apart. The performance was in Panacea, while the crash was reported near Oakwood Trail in Crawfordville. Keeping the two locations distinct helps readers follow the timeline. The last show was a public event at a restaurant venue. The crash happened later on Rehwinkel Road, where the highway patrol says the vehicle left the road. The source reports an investigation and does not identify a final cause.
His father's public message has two parts. He thanked people who were sharing memories of his son, even though seeing those images and recordings was painful. He also asked residents to raise the condition of the road with county officials. His reference to a previous wreck describes what he told people about the curve. It does not settle the question investigators were examining about this crash. The request for signs and lighting is a separate concern that he raised because of the location.
The festival offers another way to understand the loss within the local music community. A young musician can contribute by organizing opportunities for other performers as well as by playing his own shows. The source describes the Deadman Walking Festival as a place for emerging local talent. That work remains a part of Beach's story alongside the songs, the band and the performances remembered in the tributes.
His last performance also has a place in the story beyond the timing of the crash. It was an occasion for people in Panacea to hear the artist in the setting where he worked. The tributes after his death came from people who knew his music in those rooms and from those who had heard it on the radio. The festival and his regular shows gave those listeners a history with him before the news reached them.