Today we’d like to introduce you to The Southern Tiers.
The Southern Tiers, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Michelle was born in New York but raised in a small town in Kansas, where her passion for music began at an early age. She started playing guitar in middle school, took voice lessons, and quickly discovered songwriting as a creative outlet for navigating the challenges of growing up surrounded by family addiction. Music became her refuge and the source of strength that carried her through difficult times.
Throughout her childhood, Michelle was deeply involved in music and the performing arts. She sang in school choirs, appeared in local musical theater productions, and competed in numerous talent competitions, including the Colgate Country Showdown in eighth grade. By high school, she was performing regularly as both a solo artist and a background vocalist, singing every weekend with a classic rock band while also playing venues throughout Kansas and Oklahoma.
One of Michelle’s proudest hometown moments came during Neewollah, the famous annual festival in Independence, Kansas, whose name is “Halloween” spelled backward. During the community’s senior pageant, she was awarded the title of Miss Talent after performing an original song, “Be Strong,” which she wrote as a tribute to military families overcoming loss and sacrifice. Growing up in a close knit community, Michelle credits her hometown and its unwavering support for helping shape both her character and her career.
She earned an Associate of Music degree with a concentration in voice from Independence Community College before transferring to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. There, she studied Vocal Performance and Music Business, earning her bachelor’s degree. During her time at college, she led a Motown ensemble and an alternative pop group while also recording in the university’s renowned professional recording studios.
Michelle’s songwriting has earned recognition from legendary radio personality Bill Cody, who invited her to perform and be interviewed on WSM Radio’s Coffee, Country & Cody, where she showcased her original song “Fairytales.”
While attending Belmont, Michelle became a regular on Nashville’s celebrated songwriter rounds, honing her craft alongside some of the city’s most promising artists. It was during one of these writers’ rounds that she met Samuel, a rising talent in the Nashville music scene, a meeting that would become an important chapter in her musical journey.
Samuel grew up in a very small town in upstate New York. He was surrounded by music at a very young age as his father had worked in radio his whole life introducing him to many different types of music. He started playing trumpet at a young age and picked up guitar and piano later as well as singing in choirs and participating in various theatre performances. Half way through high school, after his older siblings were out of the house Sam and his parents moved to Madison, Wisconsin leaving behind essentially everything that Sam knew and grew up with. This experience at such a pivotal age gave Sam many more opportunities for developing his musical skills and taste. It’s at this age that he started writing his own material and started to learn basic recording techniques. Sam continued to write and perform at college in the twin cities both as a solo artist and with his then band called “The Todays”. In 2014 Samuel left college for Nashville to strike it out on his own as a singer songwriter where he would eventually meet Michelle on the competition Nashville Rising Star.
He asked Michelle to co write which eventually led to the formation of “The Southern Tiers”. The duo took the name from the region of upstate New York, where they both coincidentally were born. Michelle and Sam have been writing and performing together since 2016. They released their first EP in 2021 entitled “All I Need” as well as a few singles, garnering radio play across the US and Canada. In June 2026, they made a return with the release of the single “Holiday” in anticipation of their debut LP “Cookin’ Up Trouble” to be released in fall of 2026.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Both of us have bonded over the effects of substance abuse within our families at various stages in our lives. Part of the reason we got into music and songwriting was to process the emotions that came with those experiences. Turning pain into something creative has helped us make sense of difficult moments, and it’s become one of the strongest foundations of our partnership. Those challenges have shaped not only who we are as people, but also the honesty and vulnerability we try to bring to our music.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are The Southern Tiers.
We are a married musical duo.
We specialize in Americana Singer-Songwriter Music.
We are most proud of the fact that we both write and record all our stuff (along with production help from Evan Seiling)
We are also very proud to be Murphy’s parents (our sweet and sassy little rescue doggie lol).
What sets us apart from others is our unique blend of voices, our songwriting styles which are cozy, yet cinematic, heartfelt, yet sometimes quirky and also the stories that we tell through our songs.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Our latest single “I Wish I Was A Bird” was just released in August 2026 in the run-up to our full LP coming in October. This song is folky, tender, and vulnerable and is accompanied by our first ever music video (shot, edited, and co-directed by Diane Liu)!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thesoutherntiers.com/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesoutherntiers/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesoutherntiers/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSouthernTiers
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesoutherntiers
