Mike Ethan Messick is a songwriter, first and foremost, with a knack and a passion for turning life’s ups and downs into vivid, tuneful and relatable stories set to music that ranges from classic country to ambitious folk-rock.  Growing up in Baytown, Texas, he fell in love with his dad’s eclectic record collection and started the long and rewarding process of developing his own sound and style through years of playing open mic nights and small venues around Central Texas.  His self-released albums – 2006’s Bootlegger’s Turn, 2011’s The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday, and now 2017’s How Close We Came – reflect the influence of titans like Steve Earle, John Prine, and Billy Joe Shaver, filtered through his own literary eye for detail and gritty but ultimately optimistic voice.  

Messick has garnered independent radio play from Texas to Australia with songs like “American Steel” and “Oldsmobile,” scored songwriting cuts on other artists’ albums and setlists  (including Roger Creager’s take on “The Everclear Song,” one of the most popular hits of the Texas country music explosion), appeared as a commentator and performer on the Texas Music Scene TV show, and played opening gigs or song swaps alongside fellow Texans including Hayes Carll, Randy Rogers, and Ray Wylie Hubbard.  The new album How Close We Came was recorded at Austin’s legendary Cedar Creek Studios with producer John Ross Silva and an A-team of local musicians including David Abeyta, Cody Foote, Scott Davis, Geoff Queen, Jamie Lin Wilson and Wade Josey.