Ryan Oyer finally walks down the aisle

Tweak a few of the details and splice in a spicy love interest and Ryan Oyer’s journey to winning this year’s Road to Nightfall battle of the bands would make for a pretty good rom-com. (Or maybe an inspiring sports biopic.)

A local singer/songwriter who shares my idolization of first- and second-wave British Invasion bands, Oyer has been a recurring face at the competition since 2012. This year marked his fourth time competing, but before 2015, he seemed trapped in bridesmaid limbo.

He got on the dance floor on his first run but lost in the finals to Strung Like a Horse. The next two years, he was knocked out even earlier. Even though he says he wasn’t driven by the competitive nature of the event, he just kept showing up.

“To me, music is not really about that — it’s not a sport — so it’s hard to gear yourself towards that,” he says. “But I do love Road to Nightfall and the opportunity it provides to network with other bands and showcase yourself in front of people who would otherwise never see you.

“Every year, that was the reason I ended up saying, ‘Let’s do this again.’”

Oyer is a lighthearted guy with a smirky smile that makes his top lip disappear in a flurry of teeth. As long as I’ve known him, he’s seemed to have a soul like a duck’s back; bad news and disappointment seem to wick away without sinking in. Consequently, as much as I respect the other Road to Nightfall winners — who were all very much deserving of the honor — it was hard to watch Oyer walking away empty- handed time and again. But his persistence was inspiring; he was the event’s spunky underdog, like a goateed Rocky Balboa or a bipedal Seabiscuit.

When I heard the news that he’d finally won, I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

The stakes at the 2015 Road to Nightfall were higher than in years past: more money, flashier laurels. Oyer’s win earned his band $1,500 — $2,000 total, counting the money they earned as finalists — a headlining slot on July 10 and a block of recording time at The Soundry in Soddy-Daisy.

That treasure trove might make this victory seem even more significant, like settling a long-overdue tab, but in his typical easygoing way, Oyer says his goal was never to pad out his trophy case or his wallet.

“To me, it was more about playing really good sets,” he says. “In hindsight, yeah, I think [the prize package] is really great, and it made the victory more sweet, but it didn’t make us try any harder.”