January Music news

January Music news

Happy New Decade, Friend!

Greetings from the road! I’m currently en route to New Orleans by way of Nashville, on my way to play a series of shows this weekend while exhibiting my artwork at another awesome Wizard World comic convention. I’ll be hitting Commodore Grill on the west side of Nashville tonight to share some tunes before continuing on to NOLA tomorrow morning, kicking off a new year by doing what I love all across the country!

On the subject of travel and touring, 2020 is likely to see me returning to the road more frequently. My relationship with the Wizard Con continues to grow, affording me ample opportunity to get out of Cleveland for a while, and I’m working on developing a solid mobile living situation to extend those trips more regularly into multi-week tour opportunities. Though I’m not much of one for “New Year’s Resolutions”, I AM a big fan of career goal-setting, and increased touring is my #1 goal right now.

A close second is creating more musical content to share with you, both in audio and visual formats. You may have seen my House of Ghosts live concert video in late 2019, and I’ve just released a video for The Last Sunset, a production that holds a special place in my heart.

“The Last Sunset” music video – Michael McFarland & the Mess Makers

We actually shot the video in January of last year, in the middle of a massive snowstorm that kept us from using our intended shoot location (an unheated industrial warehouse space) and forced us to relocate filming to my own home. The entire band, our videographer, and my partner Amanda (as production coordinator) kept their spirits high and proved exceptionally flexible as we moved furniture, cleared floors and walls, and even tacked sheeting outside the windows to turn a cold snowy day into a bright “end of summer” feel featuring all of my faithful Mess Makers.

I’m anticipating additional video content (including at least one Hello Headrush music video) in the new year, and am currently prepping multiple new tracks for my solo project. Be sure to check out my upcoming shows to hear the new material before it’s released!

I’m also looking to build more performance opportunities at festivals and with other musicians. Lately I’ve been working to turn my musical influences (many represented here in my personal “2019 soundtrack” playlist on Spotify) into my musical colleagues, seeking collaborative connections with other artists I admire. I’m also working to build new relationships, both creative and corporate, with sponsors and small businesses whose missions and values align with my own, working to make the music and creative scene – and the world – a better place. For example, I’m excited to now have personalized picks from my new sponsor Trident Media featuring my new logo, and I’m working on a partnership with a local clothing company for some new concert attire.

There’s so much in store for me in 2020, and I’d love to share it all with you! Be sure to check out my upcoming show schedule below, and of course keep an eye on my website for a fully up-to-date list of my performances and appearances.

As always, there’s a chance I might end up picking up a few more shows over the coming weeks, so be sure to like my various social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and keep an eye on the Tour Dates page to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Once again, thank you for taking this journey with me. I can’t wait to see what happens during this new decade!

Cheers,
Michael