Michael Marcagi
Hello, My Name is Michael
W
rite what you know, goes the old Mark Twain-attributed creative imperative. It’ s wisdom not lost on singer-songwriter Michael Marcagi, who once felt that his humdrum hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, was no great shakes in the inspiration department. So
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how could he possibly ever hope to compete with edgier streetwise artists from New York or Los Angeles? Now a seasoned 34, he managed to find a way— simply by singing about himself, in all his Midwest glory. And fans, who found his homespun candor and straightforward guitar melodies rather refreshing, came flocking.
And the composer hit pay dirt with his very first 2024 single,“ Scared to Start,” a Springsteen-urgent, let’ s-ditch-this-dead-end-town ballad, which showcased his autumn-brisk singing voice, way with a humongous, toe-tapping hook, and a clever habit of buttressing many of his choruses with Gospel-huge backing vocals. Soon, it was being used on countless TikTok memes, and people wanted to hear more. So, through two EPs and a brand-new official debut disc, Under the Streetlights, he sang of where he’ d been, in self-explanatory anthems like“ Flyover State,”“ Midwest Kid,” and“ Rock Steady,” featuring Jade Bird, and“ Wish I Never Met You” co-written with and boasting a duet with lead Lumineer Wesley Schuiltz.
“ I think that I’ ve really learned to love where I’ m from,” confesses Marcagi, whose record artwork usually features a rustic shot of him in a rustic Midwestern outdoor setting.“ I used to be a thing where I did not think I had a chance, or felt like what I had to sing about was important, so I thought it would just be overlooked. But I think now that I’ ve found my identity in the music scene, and figured out what I want to sing about … and I think that I’ ve also realized that these things that I thought were way more universal … Like, I used to think that growing up in a flyover state and the feelings that I had were unique to just me. But now I don’ t think that’ s true at all.”
And with each successive release, Marcagi gets closer and closer to folk-pop perfection, all while maintaining his Regular Joe affability. He doesn’ t really comprehend just how big a star he’ s bound to become, and that’ s a good part of his winning charm. Luckily, he had some extra time to speak to the IE before his career really took off …
IE: That grainy black and white shot of you on a bridge on the back cover of your EP: Midwest Kid – was that shot in your hometown? MICHAEL MARCAGI: Well, it actually looks a lot like Cincinnati. But I was actually in Chicago that day. We took that since I was playing a show at Thalia Hall in Chicago, and we went out and walked around a little bit beforehand. And there was just something about( that shot) that reminded me a lot of Ohio, and Chicago’ s still the Midwest. And where I grew up, my house kind of overlooked the Ohio River, and it just reminded me of home.
IE: Why choose guitar? And when did you discover you had a unique singing voice?
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