Michael Stovall

It is no secret that I have a fascination with the Muscle Shoals music scene, so you can imagine my pleasure when Michael Stovall invited me to listen to his new record, “Georgia.” While the 29 year old singer/songwriter was raised in the Shoals area of Alabama, he transplanted his Alabama roots and planted them firmly in the clay of Athens, Georgia. Despite the geographical change, the mud of Muscle Shoals still comes through the soul of his music. “Georgia” is a collection of songs that will please your ears while they break your heart at the same time.

The album opens with the beautiful finger picking of an acoustic guitar on the track, “Asleep at the Wheel.” It only takes a couple of lines to realize the peaceful music serves as the perfect cushion for Stovall’s poignant song writing and storytelling. This first track sets the mood perfectly for what’s to come on the record. This speaks to the masterful craftsmanship of the individual tracks. Not only does Michael have a gift at writing songs, he also has an amazing talent for arranging them as well. Whether it be the inclusion of a string section, well placed three part harmonies or the tone of a guitar on a solo, Stovall manages to add spices to his songs that create rich flavors on the record. The additions are not always obvious, and can be downright subtle at times. But they are always just enough to be effective. All credit is due to Stovall as he mixed and produced all the songs on the record himself.

While the majority of the songs on “Georgia” are acoustic in nature, the song “House on the Horizon” is a standout. It is a bluesy track that features some great electric guitar work. As I listened to it, I couldn’t help but feel an Eric Clapton vibe. Not many artists can fuse together acoustic and blues like Slowhand, but Stovall proves he is up to the task. While I hate to constantly compare artists to others, I can’t help but point out the track, “Enough is Enough,” sounds like it could have been on a David Gray record. As I believe David Gray is a brilliant singer/songwriter as well, I say this only to praise Michael Stovall. The vocal delivery on this song may be my favorite of the record.

All comparisons aside, I believe Michael Stovall is a talented artist who has made a beautiful record. There were so many times during the course of listening to it that I found myself overcome with emotion by a lyric, or with just the delivery of a lyric. In my opinion, those kinds of moments are the ultimate gauge to access the power of a song or artist. Based on that criteria alone, I can say with no reservation that Michael Stovall measures up with the best of them. ”Georgia” is a true work of art that needs to be heard. If you believe that music and emotions go hand and hand, you need to hear this record. - The Music Room

The other night I was home alone for several hours. I typically don’t mind being alone. I listen to music and dance like a fool around the apartment, or I do silly things like re-arrange the paintings on the wall. This particular night, however, I decided to play scary zombie video games during a thunderstorm. There’s a good reason why my horror movie phase ended in college–I scare easily. After an hour or two of killing zombies, I was positive that there was one in my bathroom and refused to go anywhere without my cat going in first (as bait, or to protect me, or something). All of that to say, that I wouldn’t have had any of those issues if I had made the sensible choice of turning Michael Stovall on as soon as I got home. I would have realized that my life is so much nicer without zombies and video games. I would have gotten so caught up in dancing and jamming around my apartment in my socks (trying to make them spark on the carpet) that I wouldn’t have cared at all that my husband was out playing nerdy board games until after one in the morning (we’re old people who go to sleep at nine). Stovall’s voice would have been the perfect accompaniment to the thunder and lightning and rain rushing down out there. Well, all regrets aside, it is the perfect accompaniment to the sunshine and cool breeze on this glorious summer solstice.

“Georgia” is Stovall’s second album. It opens up with guitar chords which make my feet look around for some soft, green grass to wander through. “Asleep at the Wheel” is a travelling song which fills me up with all kinds of wanderlusty feelings. It’s a song about long nights and short nights, about meeting new people and missing old ones. It’s a song about a blonde girl and being young but ageless.

“Katie” is a song that I loved. My only complaint about it is that it is not about “Kate” instead of “Katie”. So far, Ben Folds is the only one who has written such a wonderful song about me. Whoever Katie is, she must be incredible. I’m sure we would be great friends. That said, this song is a little melancholy. I love the soft string sounds hiding in the background and Stovall’s voice has that perfect emotional edge to it.

I love the harmonica. Like the melodica, I believe it to be underused outside of its niche. “To Live and Die in Georgia” opens with some sweet harmonica and explores some very human thoughts about what it means to be a man. How do emotions work? How do relationships work? Very beautiful, very heartfelt. The chorus gave me shivers with its minor notes and soft harmony.

“After the fall, I found myself lying there, eyes lost out in the stars breathing in the air. Maybe in the morning I’ll make my way out of this old town, head north out on the highway never turn around. Oh, I was born free, free as a man could dream.” I wish I could just write out all of the lyrics to “Born Free” and that would be my review. But you should really just go listen. We have plans to move west to the desert in a few years and this song is making me wish that we could just pack up and go now. Stovall’s voice is so controlled, the beat is gentle but there are lots of sounds. Guitar sounds, drum sounds, harmonica, voices. It’s simple and complex, organic but symmetrical. This song is restorative to the soul of a wanderer.

Please go check this album out. If you like soft country sounds, nice voices, songs that give you chills, travelling, and music that gives you the wanderlust something bad–you’ll love Michael Stovall. Maybe he will love you back. Buy art from artists. - Ear to the Ground Music

-Greg’s Take-
Remember turning 21? If you haven’t yet, then this is most likely going to shock you.

21 was great, but then what? What do you do then? Look forward to 30? 30 is old; right?

It is not old.

What happens between that landmark age of 21 and, well, everything else is life. Mid-twenties are about discovery and losing at a lot of things.

For Athens, Ga singer/songwriter Michael Stovall, his discovery has led him to Mercy; a four (five including the bonus “Something”) track reach into his roots in Alabama and a portrayal of a very American acoustic songwriter presence.

The fascinating journey the EP takes you on is more mature than simple love songs and much less repetitious than most of the mainstream associations many would be quick to make. Like Marc Cohn did with “Walking In Memphis,” Michael Stovall does with Mercy; it isn’t a singer/songwriter, it isn’t just music, it is a story that is very easy to see.

Each track lays down just a little more road than the last. Mercy keeps things very simple, but does so with purpose and finesse. “Home (The Only Place)” strikes up a coffee shop lamenting sensitivity while “It Don’t Take Two” immediately paints a vivid picture. The title track has Springsteen qualities of echoing reverence. The slower paced ballad leans on a drifting and wandering acoustic plucking that left me staring contemplatively into nothingness. It is a sole testament to the quality Stovall is capable of. He taps into the vein of Americana and leaves his mark. His ability to evoke the same reflective qualities as Ryan Humbert and Joey Todd immediately takes him from just another man and his guitar to a weaver of emotion and grace.

At just twenty eight, Michael Stovall carries a heavy weight of experience and style in his music. If someone were able to reach into their heart, pull out all of their hurt, happiness and passion and mold it into an acoustic guitar, they may come close to achieving what Stovall has done in Mercy. - Nanobot Rock Reviews

Michael Stovall is a 29 year old singer/songwriter that often draws comparisons to the likes of Ryan Adams, Joshua James, and John Mayer. Michael has begun his first venture as a solo artist and “Georgia” serves as Stovall’s first full-length release.

ARTIST: Michael Stovall

SONG: Katie



BIRTHDATE: 11/13/1984

HOMETOWN: Florence, AL

CURRENT LOCATION: Nashville, TN

AMBITIONS: To be known as a great songwriter

TURN-OFFS: Weird feet.

TURN-ONS: Confidence, humor, creativity, traveling.

DREAM GIG: Sharing the stage with Bob Dylan or Neil Young

FAVORITE LYRIC: “I gave her my heart, but she wanted my soul” – Bob Dylan

CRAZIEST PERSON I KNOW: She would be upset if I said her name, because she’s the craziest person I know.

SONG I WISH I WROTE: The list could go on and on. Currently, I would have to say “Bohemian Rhapsody”

5 PEOPLE I’D MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Paul McCartney, Robert DeNiro, Bob Dylan, Jack White, Sofia Vergara (I’m single)

MY FAVORITE CONCERT EXPERIENCE: My brother, sister, and I went to a Pearl Jam concert in 2003 or 2004. Eddie Vedder’s voice gave out toward the end, so he brought a wounded veteran up on stage to help him sing. By far, the coolest thing I’ve seen at a concert. I’ll never forget it.

I WROTE THIS SONG: very quickly. Everything just seemed to fall into place at the right time, and I finished the tune in about 5-6 minutes. I wanted “Katie” to be short and sweet, and I wanted a very melodic ending. This song is a summation of how relationships can end abruptly, and still leave a mark. - American Songwriter

Armed with a harmonica and guitar, 29-year-old Michael Stovall will enchant audiences with his folk-inspired tunes. The self-taught musician began playing guitar at the ripe age of 14. “My dad used to play guitar for me in our living room, and I was always in awe of how beautiful the guitar could sound,” Stovall tells.

Stovall fully became entrenched in music while in college, as he started writing his own material. He realized his potential to write impactful stories through song. In 2004 he started the trio called Jackson Jones, a jam/rock group that played for three years before Stovall went on hiatus from music.

“I felt like I needed a break in order to really find out who I was as a person and as a musician,” he tells, “I think stepping away helped me write songs that were more personal and more in tune with who I am.”

Stovall returned to the music biz as a solo artist, channeling the energy of Neil Young and Jackson Browne. He has been compared to the likes of Ryan Adams. The subtle strums of his guitar come interlaced with soulful vocals. His body of work captures the simplicity of rural America.

“My creative process usually begins with a guitar riff,” Stovall describes. “Sometimes I’ll sit for hours and just noodle around on the guitar until I find something I think sounds cool. From there, I usually start hearing the entire song in my head and I write lyrics very fast.”

His first and only full-length album, “Georgia,” takes on autobiographical themes, relaying the artist’s transition into adulthood. “I truly believe in my songs,” Stovall says. “They all come from a real place, and I think it’s evident when I perform onstage.” - Encore

I think it is a human need to be validated. Be it through a scene in a movie or a song that speaks about these moments in our lives. True artists know this. You can tell it is not just about putting together an album that sounds radio-friendly or “accessible” to all. It is more on the need to express ones own self to the world. It is a message in a bottle waiting to be picked up. Though we are constantly surrounded by people, doesn’t mean we don’t feel the enormity of life. Sometimes the most public individuals are the lonely ones. Hiding behind the facade of smiles and confident voices. Waiting for someone to pick up the clue that leads them to the soul of that person. All of us want to be discovered and understood.

In Georgia, singer/songwriter Michael Stovall took these realizations and made them into songs. No wonder listening to the full album feels like eavesdropping at someone in the confessional. There are those moments of searing revelations that make us feel like he is singing about our secrets, our pain and our joys.

All Good Things Fall Apart is personal to me. Years have taught me to develop mistrust on happiness. Don’t we all get failed at one point in our lives? Have we not experienced that moment when we give ourselves to someone only to meet our own end? If you have watched the Little Mermaid you know that it doesn’t end well. The protagonist dies after giving her fate to the one she loves. Because we know that after stepping into that door there is no going back.

But this album also speaks of hope and the sense of belonging. Interlude(track 5) has this line that goes ” hold me now, oh I fear I’m never leaving this place.” I think it’s his choice of chords to embellish the lyrics that makes magic happen.

I think that Katie has all the elements that make it a potential single. It is easy to the ears. The lyrics are poignant. It is a straightforward love song. In this world of people who don’t believe in things like miracles, purity and dreams, maybe they can learn something from Georgia. I don’t really cry listening to albums. But this one made me. I listened to his EP Mercy(2013) and it did the same thing to me. It is always a pleasure to stumble across a recording that makes you feel very human. Amidst the scars and shields we have accumulated through the years. - Sphere Music

n a quaint venue called The Acoustic Coffeehouse in Johnson City, Tenn., Michael Stovall, a singer-songwriter from Alabama, took control of the microphone as well as fans’ hearts when he sang from his new album “Georgia.”

Stovall sang his new hits, “All Good Things Fall Apart” and “Katie,” both of which were accepted with cheer from the Johnson City crowd.

Stovall named the album after a brief residence in Athens, Ga. — a time of his life that became the basis for the album.

“I named the album ‘Georgia’ because the record is a snapshot of my time living in Athens, Georgia,” Stovall said.

“Just to name a few: Bob Dylan, Neil Young,” Stovall said. “I believe all artists have something to offer, but those are a few that really inspire me to continue writing and performing.”

However, being born and raised in the South doesn’t mean Stovall cites George Strait and Garth Brooks as musical influences.

Playing the harmonica, acoustic guitar and singing, Stovall does it all, and the songwriter’s diversity led to a a good turnout last Saturday. The music flowed along with the audience’s brews, and with chill and folksy vocals, Stovall’s lyrics spoke to the hearts of some fans.

“I really enjoyed his song ‘Katie’ because I could feel he really missed that girl by the words he wrote and just the way he sang,” East Tennessee State University student Nick Castro said.

Other than fan support, Stovall also had plenty of family support as well. With two older siblings and a set of loving parents, he said they follow his passions and listen to his folk influenced music with the rest of his fans.

“My dad had a big influence on my music,” Stovall said. “He introduced me to Bob Dylan and The Beatles, and from then on I continued to dig deeper into their music.”

Stovall’s tour has only just begun with The Acoustic Coffeehouse. This new artist plans to travel to venues in Nashville, Athens, Ga., Atlanta and Shelbyville, Ken. Hoping to get his name spread around the Southeast, Stovall is still open to playing at other venues and has his sights on maybe stopping through Knoxville.

“Hopefully next year I can get out there and perform at some venues in Knoxville.” - Daily Beacon