Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Barlow.
Hi Mike, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Upstate New York. My mother is a pianist, and my father played guitar, so I have been surrounded by music my entire life. My mom started me in piano when I was about five years old, and I was classically trained all the way up until my senior year of high school. Throughout grade school, I pursued theater and took voice lessons. I lived in the countryside, and while I had a lot of siblings with whom I played, the space and lack of a neighborhood gave me a lot of time to explore my imagination and stay in my head. I would ride my bike up and down my driveway, pretending I was driving a car with a radio on. At that time, I was very inspired by the pop stars of the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, so I would make up little songs while riding my bike that were about partying and whatnot, which were very directly derived from what I heard on the Top 40 stations. Eventually, as I got older and into middle and high school, I began actually sitting down and intentionally writing songs about my own life. I did this while keeping the emphasis on catchy melodies and big personality that made me fall in love with music in the first place. I was very inspired by the music my parents would play while I grew up, which included 90s and 2000s grunge, post-grunge, and alternative (Nirvana, Matchbox Twenty, Blues Traveler, Daughtry, etc.), 80s and 90s R&B and pop (Mariah Carey, Ace of Base, Madonna, Michael Jackson), and jazz music, including Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. I obviously had developed my own taste, which included a lot of contemporary stuff for the time (2010s), so that all played a factor in my writing style as well. I became obsessed with the piano and looked to people like Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, Billy Joel, Vanessa Carlton, and Alicia Keys to develop my piano skills into an engaging performance piece. Even though I found my lyricism to be clunky at the time, my melodies were genuine earworms that people enjoyed hearing. I began to play little gigs across the Capital Region of New York. Every Monday after my sports practices, I’d go to Saratoga to play an open mic gig at Caffe Lena, and receiving a positive reaction from my performances made me realize that I really feasibly could one day be a musician for a living, and I decided in my senior year of high school that I would attend Belmont University in Nashville, TN for songwriting. Getting into Belmont’s songwriting program was a big deal for me, as I was never given any true opportunities to showcase the musicianship I had worked so hard at developing by my high school’s music programs. It was a fresh start for me, and I was so excited for something new. I had a great time at Belmont. I made a lot of friends and wrote a lot of songs, but just like anything in academia, at the end of the day, there is a popularity contest to win, and I was never going to win it. I’m quiet and reserved with people I don’t know, my music didn’t usually fit the typical styles that others were presenting in class, and while I did receive plenty of love for my music, I never truly felt as if I fit in and ever taken seriously as a songwriter. I was rejected from everything I auditioned for, every program I applied to partake in, and every business or internship opportunity I had attempted to obtain. Once I graduated, I felt exhausted from trying to work with the system to break me in, so I used social media to experiment with my sound and image until I had people paying attention. I released my album “Glaze” in November of 2025, and while there is a true meaning and message to the album as a whole, the primary purpose of it for me was to feel as if I could make something legitimate and fun, while being free from the opinions of others. I believe I have finally found that balance, and I’m excited to see where it leads me next.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As I mentioned in the previous question, I have had my fair share of rejection and oversight in music. In grade school, I was kind of counted out as a musician, even though my teachers and peers knew me as someone who really loved playing the piano and singing. It was discouraging to see other people who I knew didn’t love it as much as I did get showcased by the music programs while I sat on the sidelines. But if anything, that only motivated me to work harder. When I got to college, I thought maybe I would be able to see big opportunities arrive at my feet, but I was hit in the face with a hard truth that my fantasy of dropping out of college because some music executive thought I deserved a record deal was not coming true. I thought the competition in my small high school was tough. Now I was at a school of 8,000 kids, most of whom wanted exactly what I wanted. I did my part for sure. I traveled to some Durango Songwriting conventions, auditioned for everything I could, became super active in the writer’s round scene here in Nashville, but my ever-increasing stage fright and shy demeanor were definitely prohibiting people from seeing my full potential. I had a few almosts. There were a few times when I was in communication with high-profile industry executives who were interested in my music (especially after I began gaining momentum on social media), but nothing has led anywhere on that front yet. Although it’s heartbreaking to try for something over and over again and repeatedly have it fall through or face rejection, I don’t think I would have challenged myself artistically had I found academic popularity or success earlier on. I was shy and nervous for a long time because of the rejection I faced, but honestly, now that I have been able to successfully garner a fanbase and learn that a segment of the population genuinely loves my music (or even in regards to the haters, people are actively engaging with my music), I’ve become a much more confident individual. I know that this is what I am called to do, and I am genuinely thankful for the journey thus far. I will continue to reframe every rejection as God leading me to the place I belong for my dreams to come true.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I believe what sets me apart in music is a combination of my strong hooks and big persona. People come for my personality and antics, but stay because the songs get stuck in their heads. I love to make people laugh, have fun, and make music. I feel as if right now, that is exactly what I am doing with my art. I’ve been jaded from a social perspective for a while. There are moments in my life when I look back and consider myself a truly mean-spirited person. Not to be like “hurt people hurt people,” but I believe that it was because I struggled to find community at every stage of my life. I’ve always been looking for a place to belong, so with this album, I’m happy to see a community of people being built who banter with one another, sing together, laugh together, and have fun together. If I can make people (everybody and anybody) feel as if they are less alone and instead part of something, and that something is a big, fun party with catchy music, then that is what I am most proud of.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
First and foremost, my mom and dad have always been so supportive of my dreams, and I want so badly to make it in part so that they can rest easy knowing all the sacrifices they made for me went towards something. My mom stayed home throughout most of my childhood because she sacrificed her career in oncology to raise my siblings and me 24/7. She was the one who saw me playing pretend and singing to myself all the time, and rather than ignoring it, she embraced it, started me in piano and theater, and believed in me. My dad spent all the money he made at work on the interests of my siblings and me. Rather than going on vacations or having nice things, my parents spent all their money on my music lessons, my brother’s and my travel sports teams, my sister’s dance lessons, etc. They even put hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars (that they did not have to spend) into recording a (truly terrible) album for me at the age of fourteen. There was never a moment when I felt as if they had too much going on to care for my interests, and I will always be so thankful for that. My family, in general, extended family and all, have been so supportive of my dream, which I think is rare in this industry, so I couldn’t be luckier in that respect. I also want to mention my coworkers at the Bluebird Cafe, who have given me a family away from home to lean on. They keep me going, and because so many of us want to make it in music, I love being part of a community that celebrates one another so openly and lovingly. Also, shoutout to the bands who believed in me; Two Mile Moon who I played my first ever show in New York last year, and Molch, who will be backing me up at my upcoming Nashville gig.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsmemikebarlow/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079433337307
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Itsmemikebarlow
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mikebarlow-music
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBarlowVEVO
