Singer-songwriter Mike Gutierrez-May has been a longstanding presence in the Boston-area folk scene. In the mid-1980s, he worked behind the scenes promoting shows, booking coffeehouses, and championing lesser-known folk and acoustic artists. However, since 2009, Mike has stepped forward as an artist in his own right, emerging as a deeply empathic and insightful folk songwriter.
“My lack of confidence held me back in the past, but I never completely gave up on myself,” the Massachusetts-based musician shares. “Once I started writing songs more consistently, I felt like I could make my contribution to music and songwriting.”
LISTEN IN HERE: https://mgutierrezmay66.bandcamp.com/album/light-still-shines-the-same
Now, with his latest album, Light Still Shines The Same, Mike continues to carve out his unique place in folk music. His storytelling is intimate and vivid, delivered with his signature nylon-string guitar and an endearingly playful vocal style. His songs, often spare in arrangement, unfold with surprising depth, drawing on his background as a mental health therapist to craft multidimensional characters. His artistic journey is deeply intertwined with his work in social services, making him, in his own words, “a social worker by vocation, writer and musician by avocation.”
Mike’s musical roots trace back to his freshman year at George Mason University, where he studied classical guitar under Larry Snitzler, a former student of the legendary Andres Segovia. While he initially pursued classical performance, his love for songwriting ultimately took precedence. His folk compositions retain a classical sensibility, with intricate fingerpicking and an emphasis on lyrical depth.
Immersed in the New England folk and acoustic scene in the early 1980s, Mike worked as a promoter and booker, managing the Peacock Coffeehouse in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, until its closure in 1988. Though he recorded a ten-song demo and performed at open mics, he withdrew from the spotlight for two decades before reigniting his passion at the Catbird Café open mic in 2008. There, he met Stephen Martin, who later produced Drifting to The Right (2021) and returned to helm Light Still Shines The Same.
Over the past 15 years, Mike has actively honed his craft through structured songwriting challenges like February Album Writing Month (FAWM.org) and participation in the Quiet Corner Songwriters Meetup in Putnam, Connecticut. He has also been featured in showcases by ISSA Boston/Northeast and the Rhode Island Songwriters Association, where he will return in March 2025.
Whereas Drifting to The Right explored themes of political upheaval and introspection, Light Still Shines The Same is a more personal statement. The album blends relationship narratives with stories drawn from Mike’s experiences as a therapist, resulting in an intimate and reflective body of work. Several tracks originate from his own life, adding a layer of raw honesty and vulnerability.
The album’s title track, Light Still Shines The Same, examines the evolution of early colonization into conquest and domination. Destiny, the lead track, offers a first-person perspective on overcoming adversity and embracing an uncertain future, encapsulated in the lyric, “I’ll be gone from here someday and where I’ll go, I know not.” Adding levity to the album, Hello, I Must Be Going pays tribute to Groucho Marx, while Marijuana Gummy Bears Picnic offers a playful take on modern edible indulgences.
With Light Still Shines The Same, Mike Gutierrez-May continues to cement his legacy as a folk songwriter of depth and compassion. This album is poised to build on the success of Drifting to The Right, bringing Mike the recognition he has long deserved. “With my music, I hope to open minds and open hearts,” he reflects. “We all have the same dreams and aspirations, and I hope we can resist the tendency to shut down because some persons in positions of power would rather that we all shut up.”
Delivered with warmth, humanity, and a keen observational eye, Light Still Shines The Same is an album that resonates deeply, much like the artist himself.
