Stream a new demo of "First World Problem" here or in Audio Player below, featuring past projects including a duet with Anaïs Mitchell
In the twenty years since Michael Shay released his first singer/songwriter record, he’s spent as much time living and collaborating outside the USA as in it, releasing several albums as bandleader of multiple world-fusion, Americana, classical crossover and rock ensembles. Coming full circle after two decades, 2024 will see the release of "Motherland," a new orchestral folk album of original songs exploring themes of land, class, family, migration, seasons and escape, featuring Shay on guitars, cello, mandola, bass, and vocals.
In addition to his earliest influences in Suzanne Vega, Robert Hunter and Townes Van Zandt, on “Motherland” you might also hear echos of Greg Brown, Neil Young, Gillian Welch, John Prine, and even Leonard Cohen who once complimented him on a cover of “Suzanne” in which Shay had altered a lyric, saying it was “a better line anyway!”
Stay tuned for info on a West Coast/ Rockies tour Summer 2024 (HOST A HOUSE CONCERT?) and check out the video for the first single from the new album: “Gospel According to a Mariner,” filmed in the traditional, working-class neighborhood where Shay resides in Quito, Ecuador.