Michael Merenda

Michael Merenda is a wordsmith, vocalist and guitarist who has long recognized that a good song has the ability to improve the world. On both an intensely personal and universal level Merenda’s work strives to entertain as well as illuminate. His early fascination with the socially conscious writings of Bob Marley and Bob Dylan met head-on with the arrival of young, smart, outspoken artists such as Ani Difranco and Dan Bern, furthering the young writer’s blossoming ideology that politics need not be polarizing and dry, but alive, vibrant and inspiring.

Merenda’s inventive approach to songmaking has been described as “zen.” He’s not one to premeditate a song or to fish stories out of newspapers, but rather he hoists his antenna and dials in frequencies already alive inside himself and the atmosphere. As a result, there are plenty of catchy hooks and memorable lines, but they come at you like approaching headlights on a dark, two-lane highway.

His travels with internationally acclaimed string-band, The Mammals, have made Merenda exceedingly comfortable on stage. His signature breathy voice has hints of Nick Drake and M.Ward and in performance this soft delivery works like a magnet. Familiar yet enigmatic, Michael Merenda is a talent to watch in this songwriting renaissance of the 21st century.