Michael J. Miles
“Why do I approach music the way I do? There is no end—every day the world walks by with stories, and birds fly by with songs. I try to pay attention and find inspiration. I taught myself to play the banjo and have found my soul inside it. My voice comes through it, along with the voices of different eras, places, and people.”
“It just fit my inner jukebox”
There are those who represent the American Songbook or one particular style of music. Michael J. Miles and his insatiable banjo cover the world songbook, and many musical styles. Recognized for his virtuosity and musical prowess, he calls it curiosity. Curiosity drives the day. The music he writes or arranges spins right out of the questions he asks.
Educator-student
As a student of the music, Miles is the consummate teacher. The renowned Old Town School of Folk Music named him the 2018 Musician and Educator of the Year. He has taught at universities, camps, festivals and woven musical collaborations around the world. He’s also learned from and worked with many masters of the instrument, from Pete Seeger to Bela Fleck.
Urban heart-ageless soul
Clawhammer banjo and roots guitar aren’t necessarily the tools of expression in the urban vortex of Chicago, Miles’ lifelong home. But he brings the city’s NOW to the timeless melodies of world folk music. His musical roots and approach are part sophistication, part grit. All heart.
Politics and poetry
“Those are two things I love. On a good day I can mix the two, and that’s when the magic starts to happen, when the ideas are there to share. William Blake said: ‘Mine is to create, not to compare’. Me, I want to create and share. Deeply. That’s what my performances are all about.”