Check Out Trevor Michael’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Trevor Michael.

Hi Trevor, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hey, y’all 👋 stoked you’re reading this article; thanks for stopping by. Here’s a little fun info about me: I was born and raised in Louisville, KY. My Dad was the 1st chair violinist for the Louisville Symphony orchestra for 30 years so I was fortunate to grow up around amazing classical music. Have so much respect for him as a person and his work ethic and am very lucky to have him play in our band now. I started playing guitar in 7th grade thanks to a push from the guitar hero video game for PS2 (I used to crush it on Medium difficulty) and started singing a couple of years later along to whatever tracks I was learning.

Growing up, my parents had greatest hits CDs from Tom Petty, Van Morrison, and Bob Dylan so I had a pretty solid introduction to music along with a System of a Down CD that my friend burned for me (still think that band is brilliant).

I dabble in banjo and mandolin but the guitar’s my primary instrument.

The biggest crowd I ever played in front of was about 6k at my college commencement ceremony. I won a school talent show at Colorado State University my senior year and was asked to perform after.

I have always loved music but didn’t start taking it seriously until about two years ago. Honestly, I think I was afraid of promoting myself or identifying as a musician and what people would think of me if I failed or never amounted to anything. So, I took the safe route and studied Finance, then worked for a local bank as a loan officer for about 6 years until finally realizing I would only be content if I gave music a real shot (nothing against banks).

I didn’t have the courage to put myself out there until I put some serious thought into my “Why”. I think it’s easy in this industry to get caught up in the personal image, i.e., wanting people to like you, desire for fame, etc. While those desires are probably inherent in being human and may never go away, I’ve come to realize a more important “Why” that is more true to my values.

First, I want to share vulnerably in my songs. I certainly don’t have it all figured out and I don’t think it’s helpful to pretend like I do but I do believe that vulnerability can help and maybe somebody somewhere can listen to the lyrics and feel that they’re not alone.

Second, I genuinely love making music, the entire process brings me joy from writing to producing to performing. I love all the guys that I play with too so it’s always a treat to share the stage with them.

Finally, I’ve got to do something with my time on earth and if I can find an anchor for my attention that somehow provides me food to eat and a place to sleep then I feel truly grateful. I’m doing this full-time right now and my goal’s simply to continue and to put honest hard work into it. We’ll see where it goes from here.

If I had to describe the genre, I’d go with Mountain Folk/Americana with Lumineers/Stapleton vibes.

Thanks for reading this and hope to catch you at a show soon. Much love!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s definitely not always smooth. A lot of times it feels like we’re not gaining the type of traction that would lead to a sustainable career. I also had a pretty big opportunity recently that slipped through last minute so those are always tough. Ultimately have little to complain about though still doing what I love.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a singer/songwriter/producer trying to make a career in music. I play all over Colorado/United States and tour as a solo act as well as a full band with my project “The Mountain Valley Collective”.

What’s next?
Would love to headline at Mission someday.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://trevormichaelmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevormichael__/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0TofxMDhVDmJPKcuabYUV0?si=oLtz_KJRRHOFLo65MmRf-A