MIKELANGELO & THE LONG LOST FRIENDS
“A charismatic maestro…vivid storytelling” The Age
One of the true mavericks of Australian music, Mikelangelo is the alter-ego of locally celebrated singer and performer Michael Simic. Coming to Wollongong fresh from Canberra at 18 to study Creative Arts at Wollongong Uni, the Illawarra has been a second home for him ever since. From playing his first gigs at house parties and pubs like the Oxford Hotel and the North Gong, Simic taught himself guitar and learned how to write songs and take them to the stage in Wollongong. He has gone on to play packed headline shows from the Sydney Opera House to London’s West End, garnering accolades as a solo performer and with his long-term group Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen, releasing 15 independent albums and building a worldwide following.
“Part Elvis, part New Romantic, part storyteller” **** Time Out (UK) Simic’s new band, Mikelangelo & the Long Lost Friends is based in his adoptedhometown of Braidwood where he and his wife are raising their young family.
Nestled by the wild and winding Shoalhaven river and under the benevolent shadow of Mount Gillamatong, Braidwood is a town teeming with artists, poets, musicians and myriad creative folks. From this creative confluence, Mikelangelo & the Long Lost Friends have emerged, featuring Jake Annetts on bass, Steve Maher on keyboard and guitar, Bruce Rose on guitar, Ben Willson on drums and Michael Simic on vocals and guitar. Together they have worked up a set of powerful and emotive new material alongside a bunch of Mikelangelo classics from his various bands and projects. The Long Lost Friends play an eclectic mix of roots rock, driving pop and turbo charged Euro folk, all delivered with Mikelangelo’s trademark charm, energy, theatrics and off-the-cuff banter.
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