MICHAEL GAY is a Minneapolis-based country folk storyteller. Starting off as a drummer and finding his way to guitar, he was inspired by the singer-songwriters of his dad’s generation--Willie Nelson, John Prine and Jerry Jeff Walker.
“I dove into that world head-first,” Michael says. “I love thrift stores, and I'd just buy whatever I could find for a dollar or two that had a name on it I recognized. 70's singer-songwriters and outlaw country was kinda what got the wheels turning because it was cheap/free at the time. But my dad's record collection is where it started to come together for me.”
Born in Denver and raised in Rochester, MN, Michael studied history at the University of Minnesota with the intention of teaching high school social studies until he moved to Minneapolis’ vibrant NE neighborhood and was drawn to the bands and songwriters playing corner bars like the 331 Club. He was hooked.
Best known for his project Almighty American, Michael quickly established his place among the Twin Cities’ finest Americana artists, winning fans and media praise for his honest, accessible songwriting. “Bus Brakes,” the single from Almighty American’s first full-length album Somewhere Ride (2017) was featured on The Current, drew comparisons to Jason Isbell and Boxcar Willie and was hailed as “the real deal” (Ear to the Ground Music). A magnetic presence on stage, Michael has opened up for such acts as Margo Price, The Mavericks, Kacy & Clayton, Emily Scott Robinson and more.
And starting our show is Sarah Morris. From the day the Minneapolis based singer-songwriter picked up a guitar, armed with the bone-deep memory of her parents’ well-loved record collection and rooted in the storytelling fire of a Mary Chapin Carpenter tune, she’s been too busy crafting love letters to the details of the trees. Sarah’s endearingly honest, expertly penned songs encourage audiences to pull away from the big picture and get caught up in the magic of our everyday minutia, the rainy day ache in her sunlit voice granting us permission to escape into stories at once hauntingly familiar and uniquely her own.
“Rootsy singer Sarah Morris offers a Norah Jones-like approach to Americana, smoothing overs its rough edges with a butter-velvety voice and an intimate songwriting style.” Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune.
Tickets $10 in advance/$15 at the door