biography
Michael Colton is a singer/songwriter and a blazing guitarist whose rootsy approach to countrified, bluesy pop goes right to the heart. With songs that simultaneously invoke storytelling traditions (a la Jason Isbell) and fiery energy (a la Keith Urban or Gary Clarke Jr.), Colton has discovered a way to reach audiences on multiple levels, through Americana storytelling, straightfoward tunefulness and incendiary guitar work. Awareness seems to be entirely central to Colton’s methodology: “It’s part of our job as artists to distill fleeting moments in life that can somehow help bring the overall journey into focus,” he explains.
While Colton’s voice conveys obvious depth, his guitar solos incorporate the soaring bends of the Chicago blues tradition, alongside ethereal textures and lyrical motifs, typically unfolding into epic guitar adventures. Yet, guitar remains a means, not an end - as Colton learned while recovering from an acute head trauma that nearly ended his life. “To keep my brain sharp, I started playing guitar 5 hours a day. And somehow, I feel like it healed me better than any medicine I was given.” Ultimately, Colton sums it up by saying, “I like to play music rather than just the guitar.”
Colton started out as a cocky guitar upstart, delving deep into the explosive traditions of virtuosos like Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Exploring that music led him even farther back down the road, straight to Blues legend Robert Johnson, and in fact, Colton went on to record an EP of Johnson’s songs. After paying his musical dues in countless bars and coffee houses, Colton had a career-changing encounter with acclaimed producer Blake English (George Benson, Toni Braxton, Jennifer Lopez) at an informal studio jam. English ended up tapping Colton for session work and producing “The Robert Johnson Sessions” for Colton as well as other tunes.