Michael Shane Borden

It's no surprise that Michael Shane Borden became a musician. Raised in a household where music was a part of daily life, it just seemed like what was supposed to happen. “We had a room full of albums,” he says," and much of my childhood was spent memorizing lyrics to songs." At the age of fourteen, Borden got his first guitar, a Checkmate acoustic guitar purchased for three dollars at a drug store. Two years later, he was playing bars with his first band. Not long after, Borden was bitten by the songwriting bug. The late Gary Hogue, Steel Guitar Hall of Famer, liked what he heard an urged him to record his songs. Along with Merle Haggard fiddler Jim Belkin, they put together a four song demo which got the young startup going. Since then, this Abilene, Texas native has traveled some miles and paid some serious dues. He's gone from playing small beer joints to legendary bars and dance halls like Austin's Broken Spoke, The Continental Club, Threadgill’s, Dallas' Sons of Hermann Hall, Fort Worth’s Longhorn Saloon, and historic Gruene Hall. He was featured at the first ever Waylon Jennings Tribute in Luckenbach, Larry Joe Taylor's Texas Music Festival, the Texas Music Revolution, and the world's largest Country Music festival in Mirande, France and has shared the stage with artists such as Hank Thompson, Dale Watson, Pat Green, Gary P. Nunn, and Rick Trevino, just to name a few. Michael Shane's original music isn't your average sounding Country Music. It's cleverly crafted and has a sound of its own. With a flair for telling short stories, Borden's lyrical style is influenced by the likes of Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and Townes Van Zandt. Add to that his unique brand of Telecaster twang and rough-hewn vocals and you get what Borden calls "Alternative Texas Music." It's been heard in over 150 television shows including HBO's Sex and the City, The Miss America Pageant, and the Gene Simmons Show and was played on CMT, VH1, and MTV in the last year alone. His third release, "Burden of Proof," is only a few weeks old, but it is steadily bringing new fans to the fold. With a sound that takes roots music and turns it on edge, Borden seamlessly moves from rockers to ballads to dance numbers without compromising the lyrical integrity of his songs. Look for big things from this artist in the coming year.