Local band The Doubted to perform at St. Louis music festival

When George Kester moved to Hollywood, California, to pursue music, he didn't know his randomly-paired roommate would become a friend, much less a bandmate.

Chris Melvin and Kester met at the Musician's Institute while getting their degrees in different music areas. Kester was already with the band The Doubted, which he and friends started in Cape Girardeau. At that time, the band had a completely different lineup than today.

"We were like, might as well get him, because at first the whole lineup was totally different. So we got Chris in the band. And it's just been that way since 2018 or 2019 or something like that." Kester said.

Three-fourths of the band hail from Cape Girardeau and are alumni Cape Girardeau Central High School — vocalist Joshua Morse, drummer Jordan Stone and guitarist Kester. Melvin is originally from the small town of Beaver, Utah.

The Doubted formed in 2016, but took a small hiatus until 2018, when the current roster took shape. The band brings a heavy metal music sound to the local music scene and the hope of sharing music to fans around the world.

The Doubted has played many times at Pops in Sauget, Illinois, over the last few years.Submitted

The Doubted has played many times at Pops in Sauget, Illinois, over the last few years.Submitted

And this is the lineup that won the chance to perform this weekend at Pointfest, the annual music festival held by St. Louis radio station 105.7 The Point.

Kester said he named the group, but it came more from the music community, when someone wants to start up a band. He said his family is very supportive of his music but, in the beginning, asked what his plan was for after the band.

"It came from everybody in the entertainment industry. Just starting up, they don't get the support from people, who basically are doubted by everybody around them," Kester said. "But it's not so personal. It's supposed to be more like, don't let anybody doubt you or let that get to you. It's for the people that feel doubted, to get the courage to break through that, I guess, in a roundabout way."

The Doubted has had the opportunity to play in Hollywood, St. Louis and more locally around Cape Girardeau. During that time, the members have recorded an album and a single, with another album release hopefully coming soon, Kester said.

The band is one of the winners for the Battle for Pointfest, and won the opportunity to play at the music festival Saturday, May 27, at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri, near St. Louis.

To get the chance, The Doubted competed against 24 other bands in five preliminary sessions, then in the grand finals to see who would play the bigger stage at Pointfest.

"We didn't treat it like it was some big competition. We just treated it, at least in my opinion, just treated it as a big show that I needed everybody to go to, and I try to make every show that way," Kester said.

Kester said he and Morse attended a Pointfest when they were in high school, which put in their brains that they wanted to play at festivals and "ginormous" stages. He said it inspired them to want to be in a band.

Being in the entertainment business does not relieve the band members from the demands of life. They, too, deal with the stress, jobs and relationships.

Kester said it is hard to balance life and work, but his mantra is he would want to put in the same amount of time into The Doubted that he does his job. Saying that the only thing is that they do not get a paycheck for The Doubted. The payoff is the satisfaction of getting to play bigger shows, getting feedback from music, connecting with people and releasing new music.

While most of the band members live in the Cape Girardeau region, Morse lives in the St. Louis area and has to commute once a week for the band.

"It can definitely be tough to balance everything. Especially when you've got significant others that want to hang out with you, and I have a 6-month-old baby that eats up the majority of my free time," Morse said. "But living, you know, two hours away, it's harder but it's definitely doable to fit everything in and try to get everything done that you need to get done. Luckily, my wife is super understanding, so she knows that once a week I'm gonna be out of pocket all day," Morse said.

As a whole, the band relies on group chats, shared calendars and open communication to be in touch as much as they can.

The band members do not have their future set in stone but they do have plans. In three years, they would like to go on tour for a few months and come back to a home base. And around year five, go on a national tour with two more albums.

Morse said he wants to be supported financially by the band's performances, and make it a full-time career of making music and touring in 10 years.

Morse said The Doubted is passionate about promoting other local bands and artists around the Cape Girardeau music scene, saying every local artist needs to know that everyone struggles and to not let it overcome them.

"We just all need to support each other and build a support system of all of the creators and artists of any kind in this area," he said. "Because I think that's the one thing that Cape, Jackson and all of Southeast Missouri really needs is more culture. You can never have too much stuff going on, and if all of us are supporting each other and trying to build together, I think it's going to create a really cool community."

Without the support people in the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area have provided the band, they would not be where they are today or the opportunities that they have been given.

"We're so unbelievably thankful to everybody that has supported us," Morse said. "There's no way we could have done it without the support."

Find The Doubted on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to keep up to date with the band's musical journey. To listen to their music, visit any major streaming platform.

For more information about Pointfest 2023 or to purchase tickets, visit www.1057thepoint.com/shows/pointfest-2023.