It was early 2011 when Michael Tracy began his journey as a singer/songwriter, stepping on stage at a local open mic in Charlotte, NC, to nervously perform some songs he had just written. He had spent his early 20’s in the Navy, stationed on both coasts and traveling to countries throughout the Mediterranean during his time in the military. He married his wife while in the Navy and they have two children together. It was later that Michael joined together his love of words and music as a songwriter, having learned guitar as a child fascinated with books and writing. The open mic performance awakened something in Michael Tracy and he continued honing his chops that first year, jumping on stages all over Charlotte and jamming with local musicians. He went into the studio and recorded his first album, Enough Small Talk, which he released in November 2011. 

Over the next two years, Michael put a band together and impressed audiences with his high-energy and soulful performances. By 2013 he won his first of many local and regional awards with the reader’s choice award for Best Songwriter from Creative Loafing Best of Charlotte. He also won the Charlotte Music Awards 2013, and performed his first major opening gig when he was offered the supporting slot for George Thorogood at The Fillmore in Charlotte. 

Michael Tracy booked even more high profile supporting gigs in 2014, including opening slots for Styx, Foreigner, Don Felder, Jefferson Starship, Dokken, and Zach Myers (Shinedown), and he ended the year ended with his own headline show at The Fillmore promoted by Live Nation. While spending 2014 performing across the region, Michael also returned to the studio and produced his next album Gonna Smile, which was signed by the indie label Spectra Records and released in February 2015. 

Despite an eventual falling out with that label and a restructuring of his band, Michael pushed forward and set out to find the right producer that could capture the sound and style he had spent years cultivating, but had yet to realize on a record. In late 2015 Michael would find what he was looking for with Los Angeles producers Bob Marlette (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alice Cooper) and Sahaj Ticotin (Ra). He traveled to LA and recorded three songs with them that would find themselves on his early-2016 release Love And Worries, a short collection of previously unreleased material that also included a couple of songs recorded in Atlanta, GA with producer Joey Huffman (Hank Jr.) and featuring guitar slinger Rick Richards (Georgia Satellites). 

From those original Los Angeles sessions, a bond emerged between Michael and producer Sahaj Ticotin, and a shared belief that together they could create great records. Michael and Sahaj got together in late 2016, co-writing an original Holiday tune that Michael had been working on called “Poinsettia Red.” Immediately in 2017 they began plotting Michael’s next full-length album. His last label experience not being a perfect fit, Michael was inspired to start his own independent label, TW Music Group, to support his newest November 2017 release, Still Got Soul. 

Though his time in the studio throughout 2017 kept his performances limited, Michael still booked some of his most notable shows to date. In February Michael and his band opened for Bon Jovi in Greenville, SC, garnering him a featured article in Billboard Magazine. In the early spring, he played two arena shows opening for Poison, and in September was on the PNC Pavilion stage in Charlotte opening for the Jeff Foxworthy/Larry The Cable Guy Back Yard BBQ featuring Marshall Tucker Band & Foghat.

After being awarded the 2017 Queen City Award for Best Rock Artist of Charlotte this year in 2018 Michael and his band are performing and touring in support of the new album, including a invite by Bon Jovi to open again for him in April at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC