ORIGINAL ACOUSTIC ROOTS

           Musician and songwriter Mike Kerwin grew up in the Detroit area and currently resides in New Orleans, LA. In the fall of 2001, Mike released his debut CD Rowboat. It contains ten original songs exploring themes from humorous observations to heartache. The CD conveys a feeling of a songwriter immersed in a diverse music community with many fine pickers and players appearing on the record. Rowboat has a rich acoustic roots sound layered with guitar, mandolins, fiddles, bluesy lap steel, harmony vocals, bass fiddle and drums.

           Mike arrived in New Orleans late January 1997. After a brief pause to soak up the local scene, Mike began performing on a regular basis at clubs and coffee houses, co-founded a well attended Hootenanny at a french quarter Irish pub and helped cultivate a great acoustic community jam.

           Recent solo performances feature current original songs and selections from Rowboat with Mike on guitar and vocals and singer/songwriter Sinead Rudden on harmony vocals.

           In addition to solo gigs, Mike has kept busy playing upright bass with the well known americana duo Jeff and Vida. Together, Jeff, Vida and Mike have teamed up to take their original, hard driving acoustic roots music where ever they can. Mike has performed with Jeff and Vida at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Twangfest(St. Louis, MO), Fitzgerald's American Music Festival (Berwyn, IL), The Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival(Ireland), The Newtonards Guitar Festival(UK), The Ballymena Arts festival (UK), Festival International (Lafayette, LA), The Bean Blossom Old Tyme Music Festival(Bean Blossom, IN) and The Station Inn(Nashville, TN).

           Mike and London based electronica composer Pete Lazonby "Sacred Circles" have collaborated using several Mike Kerwin songs. Mike and Pete's version of "Rowboat" appears on the Matthew Herbert compilation "You Are Here."

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