About Michael

By Jana Pochop

Michael Evan Sheppard lives in a house of old phonographs.  “It’s easy to knock your head on one of the horns if you’re not paying attention,” says Michael.  And paying attention is what his music is all about.  From the vivid imagery of NM Music Awards final “Film Star”, to the simple wisdom of “The Art of Crying”, to the humor of “Honey, You’re Drunk”, Michael weaves old time changes and modern poetry into something truly American.  His powerful stories draw listeners in and his rootsy, driving guitar style keeps them locked in.

At twenty-one Michael left the northeast to explore the wild west.  “Those were magical years, trucking around the Rocky Mountains in the 1968 Sportsman van that Bob Dylan and Joan Baez toured with in the ‘70s.”  He landed in Santa Fe and stayed.  “My adobe sits among the last bumps of the Rockies.  The songs I write are steeped in this place.”  Indeed, it’s music that sounds like the landscape looks – natural, full of detail and contrast.  

Quality fingerstyle guitarists are a rarity on the Americana scene.  A student of Rolf Cahn, guitar teacher to Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez, Michael makes his guitar chug like Doc Watson and ring like Joni Mitchell.  His fingerstyle playing, thoughtful lyrics, and engaging stage performances have gained the praise of grammy winning songwriter Steve Seskin who says, “Michael combines strong writing and interesting chords into powerful songs.”  Berklee College of Music’s Songwriting Chair Bonnie Hayes approached Michael after a performance and said simply, “I love your songs!”  Vocal coach Ron Browning (Alison Krauss, Keb Mo) calls Michael “A true artist [who] tells great stories – the kind that are always needed here in Nashville.”  ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Darrell Scott calls Michael’s work, “Advanced level songwriting.”  

Michael first came on the Santa Fe music scene in 1995 as frontman of the jamband Swivel.  In 2005, Michael brought his vocals, fingerstyle guitar and Dobro work to the Americana group The Propellers, along with Santa Fe musicians Cris Phillips (Cafe Mocha), Zeke Severtson (Bill Hearne Trio), and Dave Devlin (Higher Ground).  The Propellers enjoyed the stages of both the Albuquerque Folk Fest and the Durango Meltdown.  Michael also performed in folk, blues, and bluegrass duos with mandolin virtuoso Richard Hardy, guitarist Eric Carlson, and singer/songwriter Julia Meeks. Currently Michael performs solo and with 12 year old drum prodigy Leo Carlton Sheppard in the regionally popular blues duo CANDY BOMBER (www.candybomberband.com).