Hi, I'm Michael.

When I was three years old, I sat on the kitchen floor with a little plastic American flag guitar while my mom washed dishes in the next room. I taught myself to tune every string by ear until they rang together as a chord, then played something I came up with for twenty minutes straight. Lost it. Spent another twenty minutes finding it again. Finally got it back.

My mom turned around and said, "Did you just write a song?"

That's been my whole life. For over twenty-five years I've been a working musician, guitar teacher, and one of those people who genuinely cannot imagine doing anything else. I'm based in Salt Lake City now, where everything I do is built around one belief: that a life made through music is real, and it's worth fighting for.

Now I'm making the biggest record of my career, and I need my community to make it happen. Let me tell you why.

About the Album

My father passed away one month after I graduated high school. Before he left, he told me he was proud of me for doing music. When I'd first told my parents I wanted to be a musician, they pushed back hard, wanting something more reliable for me. My dad changed his mind before the end. I've been carrying that with me ever since.

The years that followed were spent chasing this dream from city to city — open mics, rock bands, music school, late nights. I eventually landed in Las Vegas, where I met the first person who believed in me completely: my wife Rhonda.

When COVID hit and the gigs dried up overnight, it was Rhonda who said: stop waiting. Write the album.

So I did. In a matter of months, I wrote thirty to forty songs — a decade of ideas that had been living in iPhone voice memos, finally set free.

These songs are about that journey. About persistence. About building something real in a world that keeps telling you to be realistic. About what it means to keep showing up for the thing you love even when it doesn't love you back right away.

Why Now?

I've spent the last four years building something real in Salt Lake City: open mics, a songwriter community, a showcase, thirty guitar students. For the first time in my career, I'm not chasing something somewhere else. I have the songs. I have the community. And now I have the opportunity to record at Freda Recording in Nashville — a world-class studio with the room, the gear, and the team to bring these songs to life the way they deserve.

What We're Making

Every dollar raised goes directly to the people making this record: session players, engineers, producers, photographers. Real humans, fairly paid, bringing their full craft to this project. Here's what we're covering:

Studio time and production at Freda Recording
Session musicians
Mixing and mastering
Photography/videography

Our goal is $37,000. Every dollar goes directly to the people and the work.

This Is Where You Come In

When you back this campaign, you're not just making a donation — you're becoming a real part of this record. Every pledge level comes with something tangible to hold onto, a piece of this project that wouldn't exist without you.

Pick what fits your budget, or pick the reward that excites you most. Either way, you're in.

Here’s what I’m asking you to do: join this campaign. Become part of this record. Be the reason it gets made.

Every musician in Salt Lake City who’s ever sat in one of my open mics, every student I’ve ever taught, every person who’s been told their dream isn’t realistic, this campaign is for you, too. When we hit this goal together, we’re not just funding an album. We’re proving the point.

Choose a reward that feels right. Share this page with someone who’d get it. Show up the way this community has always shown up for each other.

We can do this. Let’s make something real together.

If you can give, thank you. If you can share, that matters just as much. If you’re rooting for me from wherever you are, I feel that too.

This record doesn’t get made without you. And that’s not a figure of speech — it’s just true.

Thank you for being part of this.

— Michael

Let's Make This Record Together

Join Michael Louis Austin and help bring these songs to life in Nashville