New Music For Old Rockers – Michigan Edition

At one time, Michigan was known for the Motown sound and building cars in the Motor City of Detroit. These days, Michigan may be more well known for its beaches. I can attest to the fact that Michigan has amazing beaches with giant sand dunes and beautiful waters. You may be thinking, “Really? A state stuck in the middle of North America has great beaches?” Yep, thanks to the Great Lakes. Michigan’s southern border is nothing special with Ohio & Indiana on the other side. Build the Wall! But head west, and you run into Lake Michigan where the sunsets are amazing. To the north lies Lake Superior and its cool, clear waters. And to the east is a bit of Lake Erie and a whole lot of Lake Huron. There are water and beaches everywhere in Michigan.

So, why am I about to plug a couple songs from an L.A. band for a Michigan music post? Well, the band is Lord Huron, and it was started by Ben Schneider who grew up in Michigan, spending his summers at Lake Huron. After moving to L.A., he formed Lord Huron, which I believe he named after English poet Lord Byron. Anyway, they’ve got a 4th album coming soon, and if the first two songs they have released are anything like the rest of the album, it may be their best yet.

But before I get to Lord Huron’s music, here are two obscure connections to Michigan music that my oldest daughter has …

First, when she attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, she lived for a while in a house formerly lived in by Sufjan Stevens, best known around these parts for a song called “Chicago.” He’s got a new album out that I considered featuring, but it’s all weird instrumental music.

My daughter’s other brush with Michigan music occurred years ago when she took a job as nanny for the children of Ted Nugent’s private pilot. Yes, that Ted Nugent, also known as the Motor City Madman, who just recently had COVID despite being a COVID denier and who continues to be a anti-COVID vaxxer.

Enough with the obscure and in Ted Nugent’s case, the stupid. Let’s dive into some Lord Huron music. This was the first song released in February and is now my theme song each morning I open my eyes.

“You look like hell
And you smell like death”

Yep, that’s definitely me every morning.

I really like the western guitar sound featured on this next song released just last month.

I can’t wait for the album. I was planning to see Lord Huron in concert in 2020 before COVID shut down the world. It’s nice to see it didn’t stop Ben and the rest of Lord Huron from making some great new music. I hope to see them in concert soon as long as I’m not dead yet.