What's Happening Now...
April 9, 2021:
I have just released a new CD! It is called "The World Is Temporarily Closed" and, as the name implies, it contains songs written about this pandemic. Actually, all of the songs were written from April through December of 2020. It was recorded and mixed at Quad Productions Studio in February and mastered by Tom Nunes at Atomic Disc. It is all acoustic and solo. Details, complete lyics and chords can be found HERE.
The CD I had almost finished at the start of this pandemic has been put aside. It did not seem relevent once this started. I hope to pull it back out and finish it in the future, but I am not sure when.
December, 2020:
Well, in spite of the pandemic I managed to do five shows this year SAFELY. That does not sound like much, but it was more than I thought I was going to be able to do. Hopefully next year will be better.
August 10, 2020:
We have now done 3 shows in Port Sanilac, outside and they were all VERY successful. Everyone cooperated and FULL precautions were in place and followed by everyone. It was GREAT to play again and see everyone come together safely to enjoy the music! You can see a few videos and pictures HERE
June 7, 2020:
Well, over 2 months now and no live music, but, on the plus side, a lot of home projects have been completed. Plus, I have written a lot. I am happy (I think) to be able to say I am going to do my first gig since this began on June 20th in Port Sanilac. We will see how it goes. I am going to stay safe, but look forward to playing for someone besides Me, my Wife and our dogs.
March 20, 2020:
Currently I am, of course, not playing anywhere in public because of the pandemic and all of my performances have been cancelled.
I had just finished recording my first “Solo” CD called “Life's Short Song” and I had scheduled a friend to come in to record a couple of bass and fiddle tracks when the Coronavirus hit the world. Thus, it is on hold until I don't know when.
Full details on what it will "hopefully" be can be found here: Mike Tremblay - "Life's Short Song"
Upcoming Performances
Hurray! I have shows booked this year! The dates are of course subject to change if something goes south with this pandemic. Let's hope they happen!
Thursday, January 27th, 2022, 6-8pm - "Rae's Restaurant & Coffeehouse" Croswell, Michigan.
30 N. Howard Ave., Croswell, MI 48422
Phone: 810-546-6170
Website: www.raescroswell.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/raescroswell/
"Mike Tremblay & Friends" with Walt Schlichting, Tom Schlichting and Nancy Tremblay.
Tuesday, February 1st, 2022, 6pm - "First Tuesday Concert Series" Croswell, Michigan
"Mike Tremblay & Friends" with Walt Schlichting, Tom Schlichting and Nancy Tremblay.
Thursday, February 24th, 2022, 6-8pm - "Rae's Restaurant & Coffeehouse" Croswell, Michigan.
30 N. Howard Ave., Croswell, MI 48422
Phone: 810-546-6170
Website: www.raescroswell.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/raescroswell/
"Mike Tremblay & Friends" with Walt Schlichting, Tom Schlichting and Nancy Tremblay.
Thursday, March 24th, 2022, 6-8pm - "Rae's Restaurant & Coffeehouse" Croswell, Michigan.
30 N. Howard Ave., Croswell, MI 48422
Phone: 810-546-6170
Website: www.raescroswell.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/raescroswell/
"Mike Tremblay & Friends" with Walt Schlichting, Tom Schlichting and Nancy Tremblay.
Saturday, June 25th, 2022 - "Port Austin PorchFest", Port Austin, Michigan.
Website: www.portaustinmusic.com
"Mike Tremblay & Friends" with Walt Schlichting, Tom Schlichting and Nancy Tremblay.
August 27th, 2021 - "Play on the Porch Day", Port Sanilac, Michigan.
"Mike Tremblay & Friends" with Walt Schlichting, Tom Schlichting and Nancy Tremblay.
You can see past shows, most setlists, some pictures and a few videos HERE.
About My Music
I consider myself a songwriter/singer. I play original songs along with cover songs by such people as John Prine, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and many others of that style. I play acoustic instrumentation featuring Guitars, Plectrum & Tenor Banjo, Mandolin, Harmonica and percussion. I've performed throughout Michigan's "Thumb" along with performances at some festivals and venues thoughout the state of Michigan. In addition to my solo performances, I am a member of the eclectic folk group "Thumb Folks" and a member of the new folk trio called "Tremblay-Evans".
I started playing guitar when I was 16 and started writing songs. I joined several "garage" bands until finally joining a band called "The Sirens" at 19. They played around the metro Detroit and Ontario area and put out one album of original songs. I left the band when I was 22 to start a duo called "Us" which performed my original songs and songs in the folk and country tradition. "Us" put out one tape of my original songs in 1983 and broke up in 1984. I then continued playing and writing original material while getting married, having kids and settling into a "real" job. As my daughters got older, I picked up my guitar and started preparing for playing seriously in public again. In December, 2001, I played in public for the first time in almost 20 years at a coffeehouse in Lexington, Michigan. It was, in fact, my first ever performance "solo" with an acoustic guitar. I have been playing regularly since then.
I feature original songs as much as possible, but do cover songs by other singer/songwriters I like. Whether playing my own songs or, other peoples songs, the common thread in all of them is they are songs with meaning. For an idea of the songs I've played, go to SETLISTS.
In 2002, I started playing with Dean Barnett and Tom Schlichting who I met at several coffeehouse's. After playing together separately at several gigs, we morphed into a group we called "Thumb Folks" in 2003.
We perform original songs in the folk tradition, traditional folk songs and acoustic songs from the 1920's thru the 1970's. An eclectic blend indeed. When listening to a "Thumb Folks" show the Monty Python saying "and now for something completly different" comes to mind. We will play "Bad Moon Rising", an original song then, right after, play a song by Sippy Wallace from the 20's. You never know what to expect. But, you always get "thumb" thing worth listening to. Known for our tight harmonies and instrumentation, we played frequently throughout the thumb and southeast Michigan until 2008, when we moved on to other groups, but we still get together occasionally to play when we can.
We released one CD called, "At Berry Pickin' Time" in 2006. It has 15 songs, featuring 6 cover songs and 9 original songs.
We also released a DVD of us live at The Barn Theater in Port Sanilac called "Thumbfolks! - Live" (if you can imagine that). Sorry to say it is not available right now, but you can see a few songs HERE
While playing with "Thumb Folks" I was also playing with many other people. Among those were Bob & Joyce Evans. We officially got together in 2006 as a new folk group called "Tremblay Evans", but had known each other from jams since 2001.
Performing what's been called "Folk Music for the 21st Century", we feature original folk songs along with many from the 60's and 70's. Tremblay Evans evokes a time when the words really mattered and the voice's would fill the air. Blending various traditional instruments with the voicing's of the words of today, you can imagine what Greenwich Village's Washington Square would sound like if it were beginning today. The times they change, the message remains the same.
When not performing original songs, we play acoustic versions of songs from the 1960's-70's by such people as John Prine, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, and many others. Their acoustic instrumentation features Guitars, Banjos, Mandolin and Harmonicas.
We played a lot of shows in the "thumb" and southern Michigan from 2006 to 2010 and put out a CD called "On Roads" released in 2009. It features 12 original songs along with 3 cover songs.
"On Roads is a great collection of masterfully written songs with wonderful three-part harmonies throughout the project."
Jeff Williams - Melodic Promotions
For complete details and some samples, click HERE.
We stopped playing together when Bob & Joyce moved to North Carolina to pursue work during "the great recession".
Once this happened, I stopped pursueing playing anywhere and took a break from playing live and only played in festival circles and jams. Kind of a reset of sorts. I had spent the previous 10 or so years pursueing and booking shows for all of us and I was tired. It is a lot of work trying to schedule shows and working around people's schedules for the shows and practicing.
After this reset, I decided to just do the occasional "solo" show and continued writing new songs. However, I looked forward to everytime I could play and jam with whatever musicians happen to be gathered around.
In 2019 I decided to start booking shows "solo" and booked a few for 2020. I also recorded a new "solo" CD to be released in 2020. Most of the tracks were done and I scheduled musicians to come in to add to it. Talk about bad timing! Needless to say, those shows dissapeared, the CD was put on hold and I only made a few appearances locally. The only good thing to come of this was writing a lot of songs about this pandemic and what we have been going through. This was turned into a CD called "The World Is Temporarily Closed" which was released in April, 2021.
For complete details and some samples, click HERE.
For 2021, I booked shows "Solo" and as "Mike Tremblay & Friends". That way I could book it, figure out who could do it and adjust the setlist accordingly. Most of the shows have been "With Friends" Walt & Tom Schlichting, but a couple have been with Barry Shigelone and Dennis Hanselman too.
For 2022, I am booking shows as "Mike Tremblay & Friends":
Walt Schlichting - Bass, Mandolin, Fiddle and Concertina
Nancy Tremblay - Vocals and various things
Mike Tremblay - Vocals, Guitars and Banjo
Tom Schlichting - Guitar, Harmonica and Vocals
We spent the Fall and Winter of 2021 rehearsing a lot and tightening our arrangements, harmonies and setlist. Also, most importantly, having a lot of fun doing it!
