Join us Friday, January 10th for a song swap featuring Luke Callen and Michael Gay!

Show: 7pm

Tickets: $13 advance/$15 day of show

Meet Luke: In an age of quick fixes, flashing screens, and pop ‘songs’ that are more formula than art, an album that takes its sweet time is a radical act. “Also Going Nowhere”, Luke Callen’s third full-length effort is just that – a collection of songs that spread out through time and space, dripping with honest Midwest charm and a mischievous glint. It’s music that you can relax into, paired with lyrics you’ll want to chew on and savor, that ask something of their listener. These songs are proof and reminder: you don’t actually have to go anywhere at all to, you know, get somewhere.

Meet Michael:

Michael Gay is a Minneapolis-based country folk storyteller. Starting off as a drummer and finding his way to guitar, he was inspired by the singer-songwriters of his dad’s generation–Willie Nelson, John Prine and Jerry Jeff Walker.

 “I dove into that world head-first,” Michael says. “I love thrift stores, and I’d just buy whatever I could find for a dollar or two that had a name on it I recognized. 70’s singer-songwriters and outlaw country was kinda what got the wheels turning because it was cheap/free at the time. But my dad’s record collection is where it started to come together for me.”

 Born in Denver and raised in Rochester, MN, Michael studied history at the University of Minnesota with the intention of teaching high school social studies until he moved to Minneapolis’ vibrant NE neighborhood and was drawn to the bands and songwriters playing corner bars like the 331 Club. He was hooked.

Michael quickly established his place among the Twin Cities’ finest Americana artists while releasing music under the moniker, Almighty American, winning fans and media praise for his honest, accessible songwriting. “Bus Brakes,” the single from Almighty American’s first full-length album Somewhere Ride (2017) was featured on The Current, drew comparisons to Jason Isbell and Boxcar Willie and was hailed as “the real deal” (Ear to the Ground Music). A magnetic presence on stage, Michael has opened up for such acts as Margo Price, The Mavericks, Kacy & Clayton, Emily Scott Robinson and more.

 Going from a full band to a more stripped-down sound, Michael Gay started performing under his own name in 2020, right around the time he started recording his new album in Nashville. Coming out of those sessions with more than enough for an album, he released the single “Long, Cold Winter” — “a song that brings to mind John Prine, both through its sound and its wry, witty lyrics” (Americana UK). Released with the B-side “Good Night,” the track made a splash on folk and Americana radio. Now, with the release of his full-length album Make It Right (June 18, 2021), he solidifies his place as one of the young songwriters to watch. Produced by John James Tourville and mixed/mastered by Paul Oldham, the album evokes the heartfelt storytelling of Guy Clark and the layered musical sensibility of Josh Ritter.

In the spring of 2023, he and his band (now consisting of Daniel Stewart on Bass, Matt Decker on Drums, and AJ Srubas on Pedal Steel) filmed and recorded the last show of a monthly residency at The Terminal Bar in NE Minneapolis. The result was a live album- “Michael Gay & His Dang Band: Live from a Dive” released in March of 2024. The full album’s live performance is available to watch on Youtube and the audio is available to stream in digital album format on all major streaming platforms.