Travelin Man, written by Mike McKenna Jr. 

Mike McKenna Jr - vocals, acoustic guitar
Kento Kataoka - electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Mark Haynes - bass
Shane Barrett - drums

Recorded and Mixed by Simon Petraki at Seratone Studio, Mtl 
Mastered by Grey Market Mastering, Mtl

Travelin Man

'The Highway' written by Mike McKenna Jr

Mike McKenna Jr - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Kento Kataoka - Slide Guitar, Lead Guitar
Mark Haynes - Bass
Shane Barrett - Drums

The Highway

Little Things

Die In The West

Smokey Mountain

Long Sable Isle

A slow burn for the end of summer, and the first song to drop from Mike's upcoming fall album, entitled 'Smokey Mountain High'. 

'Grassfire' was co-written with Makayla Lynn Parry, produced by Quinn Bachand, mixed by Charles-Émile Beaudin, mastered by Philip Shaw Bova, and featuring Béatrix Méthé (Rosier, Diamond Day) on backing vocals and Clayton Linthicum (Deep Dark Woods, Kacy & Clayton) on pedal steel guitar.

Grassfire

Track 10 from Mike's 2024 album Smokey Mountain High

High Times and Low Times

Track 9 from Mike's 2024 album Smokey Mountain High

A Hill to Die On

Track 8 from Mike's 2024 album Smokey Mountain High

Way Down Interlude

Track 7 from Mike's 2024 album Smokey Mountain High

The Ballad of Donald Marshall

Track 6 from Mike's 2024 album Smokey Mountain High

When I First Came to Caledonia

Track 4 from Mike's 2024 album Smokey Mountain High

1971 Interlude

Track 3 from Mike's 2024 album Smokey Mountain High

The Old Country

His voice sounds hewn from ancient Canadian timbers, his melodies are as solid as Precambrian bedrock and both are on fine display throughout Travelin Man" - Quick Before It Melts 

mike McKenna Jr is a soulful and often haunting balladeer, with a unique grit and power in his voice, a folky rhythm to his guitar playing, and an authenticity of his stories that has captivated listeners in his native Maritimes and around the North American folk community. 

Mike draws inspiration for his music from his native Cape Breton, a region known as much for its rugged and picturesque landscape as for its rich cultural legacy that includes 500-years of colonial history and the accumulated oral traditions of Celtic, Mi'kmaq, and Acadian storytelling. The nostalgia of the Cape Breton countryside can be heard in Take Me Home, the opening track of Mike’s latest album Travelin Man, and in the oil-workers ballad, Die in the West -- songs that idealize the cherished landscapes of home. 

With a Nova Scotian mother and a father from Boston, Mike was significantly influenced by two working class cultures -- his blue collar hometown in industrial Cape Breton, and his immigrant Irish-American roots in Massachusetts. The strong historical relationship between Nova Scotia and New England is evident in Mike’s music; his raspy, warm voice is reminiscent of a folky, Sweet Baby James era James Taylor, or the power of Ray Lamontagne; but his tales of tragic sea voyages and lost lovers are a throwback to the nautical-themed traditional songs of Canadians like Stan Rogers and Gordon Lightfoot. 

Currently, Mike calls the Plateau neighbourhood of Montreal home, a district of bustling cafes and antiques shops, artists and eclectics. Montreal’s graffiti-covered streets provide a perfect backdrop for writing new music. Performing residencies at the Mile End acoustic staple Cafe Depanneur, and at Canada's oldest coffeehouse, The Yellow Door, Mike is in touch with the local and vibrant folk community of the city, and has twice sang on the stages of the Montreal Folk Festival on the Lachine Canal. He currently performs with KickDrum MTL, a relatively new organization that's been promoting intimate small-venue concerts with performances by many of the most talented singer-songwriters in Montreal.

Take Me Home

www.mikemckennajr.com

'Pacific Northwest Bound' is the debut studio album of Canadian singer-songwriter Mike McKenna Jr, due for release in May 2017.

Produced by Simon Marion

*Funded by FACTOR Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Mike McKenna Jr.

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