Mike Berman writes and performs original songs rooted in the folk and California folk rock traditions. He has performed concerts and showcases at venues across Southern California, such as The Coffee Gallery, The Lost Chord, Jeweled Universe, Universal Bar & Grill, Mission Tile Music, Stardust Concerts, and a number of other venues, both solo and with his three-piece combo TIMBR. He’s also performed featured sets at the legendary McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Los Angeles and Club Passim in Boston. Mike’s first album Where I’m From, released in January 2023 has been featured on dozens of radio programs across the USA as well as in Canada, the British Isles, and Europe. Where I’m From was in the top thirty on the NACC charts in January 2023.
Mike is a veteran musician, having performed in the 80’s with the Hudson River Sloop Singers as well as in his duo The Rusty Lock String Band, including festival gigs at the New Jersey Folk Festival and the Raritan River Festival. After a long layoff to build a career as a university administrator and information technology expert, he has dived head-first in songwriting in the last few years, studying with and learning from Richard Thompson, Tom Paxton, Patty Griffin, Shasn Colvin, Guy Davis, and many other accomplished songwriters and performers. Steve Gillette write that his songs “uphold the tradition and are evidence that the California sound is in good hands.” Songwriter Rob Waller, founder of “I See Hawks in LA”, says that “Mike’s songs carry a depth and humanity that stick with you.”