Jazz singer, film producer and now movie actor Craig Marquardo performs at Seaside's Lil' Bayou Saturday, Feb. 18. Submitted photo.

SEASIDE – After starting in jazz clubs and lounges in Portland, two years and more than 200 shows later, Craig Marquardo now headline dozens of festivals every year all over the region.

Marquardo performs at Lil’ Bayou, 20 N. Holladay Drive, from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18.

A Boston native, Marquardo grew up in a low-income broken home. At age 15, a spontaneous jaunt to Atlantic Records in New York City led to a chance encounter with Sting, who Marquardo says invited him to be his backup singer on the 1988 Amnesty International tour.

It was also in Boston that Marquardo met sports aficionado and actor Robert Urich, who paved Marquardo’s way for a future in the entertainment industry. “Die Hard 2” was his first film as a producer, a project for which he financed $30 million. Eight more films followed.

This year will see Marquardo star in his first motion picture, “Sway,” where he plays a man facing a crossroads in his life. The movie will feature Marquardo singing both in the film and on the soundtrack, which will double as his debut album.