30 May Artist Profile: Michael Barrow & The Tourists
New to Music Sync Licensing from Ireland
Avant Music Port Catalogue
Style: Indie Folk, Blues, Folk Rock, Country, Pop
Key words: Lively, Driving, Storytelling, Upbeat, Purpose, Strength, Family, Contemplative, Melancholic, Hurt, Together, Love, Loss, Winter, Broken Heart, Breakup, Heartfelt, Journey, Warm, Hopeful, Home, Building, Vulnerable, Self doubt, John Mayer, Travel, Freedom
Imagine for a moment you’re from a small town in north America and love everything about it dearly, but you must leave home for a while. As you leave your town and travel the backroads of north America you come across different places and people but mostly vast landscapes that seem endless on the horizon. These sights remind you of how enormous and awesome the world is versus how small you are. The soundtrack to match this journey is the music of Provo, Utah-based group Michael Barrow & The Tourists.
If music to match the theme of life on the road is what you’re searching for, then this Folk Rock American band is what you need. Made up of Michael Barrow (lead vocals, guitar), Trevor Harmon (lead guitar), Alessandro Improta (bass), Reed Perkins (drums), and Zach Collier (keys), the band produce their own style of Folk Rock which is filled with emotional, storytelling lyrics, and smooth electric guitar solos tinged with soul and blues. Stylistically and vocally there is a definite similarity to the acoustic bluesy rock sound of John Mayer.
The nine tracks of MB & The Tourists’ debut album Juneau are part of our catalogue, and while all are connected to the theme of life on the road, each has its own style and mood around it. Folk Rock in all its building, anthemic glory is heard in ‘Sing Me Something New’ with its gradual build and catchy vocal hook that sings out “We are coming home”. ‘Sad Song’ explores reflective post-breakup thoughts; “days turn to weeks but a broken heart still beats”, and emphasises the painful topic all the more with a bluesy guitar solo finishing out the track. ‘The Mountain and The Sea’ has an upbeat country feel with its driving percussion section, and celebrates nature and travel; “my heart is scattered to the mountain, my soul out to the sea”.
Overall, nostalgia is a consistent thread on all the band’s tracks, which we think endears the listener all the more as a reflective sense of belonging and home is a feeling most of us can relate to.
Video for ‘Sing Me Something New’:
Clare McGonigle