In a professional career spanning four decades, Michael on Fire has forged an eclectic path as a musical artist, having traveled millions of miles, playing original music hundreds of dates a year, for years on end, all over the country, in every kind of environment - from bars to beautiful theaters, private homes to major outdoor festivals, in mines and on mountaintops, from playing in prisons to performing for Presidents of the United States. Along the way, he has  attracted a loyal audience that finds food for the soul in his words and music and his emotional expression.

Michael Fire is one of our leading troubadours. He has the elusive, inspirational quality of a cult  hero.” - The Rock City News (Hollywood, CA)

His sound grows naturally out of the roots of American music, and encompasses its broad range of styles – from country to blues, jazz to rock, rural to urban, vocal and instrumental music, acoustic and electric.

“It’s an American roots, folkish, bluesy, country, tribal, gypsy rock and roll.” – The Huntsville Times

He’s been featured on Entertainment Tonight, CNN, FOX News and his music has appeared in film, TV and stage productions. His online presence through networks such as YouTube has reached millions of viewers and provides further evidence of his worldwide cult status.

“I found your music from your videos on YouTube. I have been listening for months. Your music has changed my life by leading me to places in myself that I had either forgotten about or never suspected were there and I want to thank you for that. What you put into your music is exactly what the world needs today.” – Ann

In January, 2010, The Ventura County Star (Ventura, CA) named his performance from Oct. 2009 as one of the Top Five Concerts of the Year (others chosen were Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, Paul Thorn and Steve Poltz.)

LA Times music reviewer Bill Locey wrote, “Michael on Fire is so good you’ll be searching for new adjectives to describe it. He’ll make you laugh, cry, see God and tap your feet – all at once"

Michael on Fire has carved out a niche outside the mainstream of the music industry.

“I didn’t set out to operate outside of the music industry,” said MOF, “I’ve just always been very clear about who and what I am, and what I do, and I’ve been resolute in upholding my musical and moral ideals.”

That strength of conviction resonates through every performance.

“The music is unmistakably passionate, wedding Michael’s penchant for dust ‘n’ bones guitar arrangements with his classically-trained musical sensibilities.  The result is a sound that is primal, raw and powerful. When I caught his live show last Sunday, his words seemed like gospel. He is an electrifying performer”. – The (East Lansing) State News



Lucifers Return To Heaven - Michael On Fire

Give Refugees A Hand - There Is Only Light - Michael On Fire

I Remember The Angels Cried - Michael On Fire

Intelligence Aint What It Use To Be - Michael On Fire

Light Of Love - Michael On Fire

Man Of Free Will - Michael On Fire

Michael On Fire - Righteous Man

Pink Dolphins of the Amazon - Michael Colone aka Michael On Fire

Venus in the Daytime - Michael On Fire

Viva LAmor Michael On Fire

Portrait of a modern troubadour: Michael on Fire WITH VIDEO
By BETH ROBINSON
Special to The Oakland Press

It is the rare home that doesn’t tell a story, and Michael on Fire’s gracious 100-year-old bungalow in Keego Harbor tells a unique one.

Bookshelves embrace an esoteric collection of philosophers, poets, mystics and musicians. Guitars own the living room, a keyboard the dining room, a bag of harmonicas the table, with a mandolin, a saxophone, and a violin that once belonged to a hillbilly fiddle player immortalized by Michael on Fire in “Chief Redbird’s Violin.”

Though he has played with performers that are household names, there are no shots of bands posing for posterity; the walls are adorned only with photos of his family.

The place has a careful feel, every object a treasure imbued with special meaning. It also has the simple, clean and reverent feel of an ascetic monk’s quiet cell.

Michael on Fire, singer, songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, producer, teacher, storyteller, is venerated by fellow musicians and fans for his profound emotion, his powerful knowingness, his passion, and his personal generosity.

“Your music has changed my life by leading me to places in myself that I had either forgotten about or never suspected were there and I want to thank you for that,” writes a fan on his website.

“As always, your vision reminds us that even when we are alone, we are all connected. Thank you for touching my heart and soul,” writes another fan.

It is the life-long flow of awareness, insight, and empathy that has moved him to pen more than  1,000 original songs.

He has recorded 13 albums and composed for film, for Detroit’s Children’s Hospital, and for The Weather Channel. And he has spent his career performing hundreds of nights a year. 

The lengthy and extraordinary journey of a modern troubadour has seen Michael on Fire — born Michael Colone — living in Detroit, Southern California, Nashville and Las Vegas.

He has performed in honky tonks and major concert halls, in prisons and for American presidents, in private homes and on major festival stages.

Michael on Fire says that from the time he first picked up a guitar at age 11, he knew that his “path and purpose was making music.” He has remained true to that calling, living his life as an original artist.

Bands and genres and even his name have been fluid affairs for Michael on Fire. He forming country rock band Old Buck, toured with the Friends Road Show, created the avante guarde improvisational jazz group Prismatic, and hit the road again as a singer/songwriter, where he came to be known as Michael on Fire.

But his commitment and conviction have been constant — as a kid riding a bike to rehearsals with a guitar in one hand and an amplifier in the other, later driving his touring van through whiteouts in the Midwest, black ice in the Rockies, tornadoes in the South, and fires in California to get to gigs, living daily on thin ice and a razor’s edge, and enduring endless judgement for doing so.

“It can’t be explained. It’s a life force. That’s the path I’m on. Most people think of music as a business or a hobby, but for me, I think it’s the highest calling I can have,” he says.

In addition to his albums, Michael on Fire has released an impressive collection of singles. Since its October release, his single, “I Ain’t There Yet,” has received worldwide radio play, gaining Michael on Fire a spot on the national Americana/country music charts.

His most recent album, “Always Yes,” released by West Coast record label Real Eyes Productions, is receiving an enthusiastic response.

“If I could have made this record anywhere in the world and brought in anyone I wanted, this still would have been the record I would have made,” he says. “I wouldn’t change one thing.”

The album, a masterwork of original Americana rock, country, and blues, has already attracted the attention of radio stations around the world, concert venues around the country, and his fans. 

He has put in the years and the miles, and done so outside of the mainstream music “industry,” creating without compromising his vision, living hard by his maxim that “you either follow your heart or sell your soul.”

“I didn’t set out to operate outside of the music industry. I’ve just always been clear about who and what I am and what I do and I’ve been resolute in upholding my musical and moral ideals.”

 With the muse already whispering new songs in his ear and the road drawing him toward upcoming performances around the country, Michael on Fire continues on his lifelong path as a musician.




Michael On Fire

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