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Stateside Podcast: Musician "Michigander" on making Midwestern music

Veteran artist Michigander will release his debut album on February 7, 2025.
Courtesy of Big Hassle Media
Veteran artist Michigander will release his debut album on February 7, 2025.

Jason Singer, who performs as Michigander, is looking forward to the release of his debut album.

A fixture in musical circles for the past decade, Singer's lyrics are not at all shy about expressing all the messy feelings that come with growing up. The upcoming self-titled album was inspired, in part, by the the myriad of changes Singer has experienced in the past two years, from moving to a new state, to supporting his mother through medical struggles, to helping his wife heal after a serious car crash. Many of the songs express finding joy in change.

"There's like a ton of music about being 30, because everyone wants to pretend they're still in their 20s," Singer said.

A true Michigander, Singer was born in Grand Rapids and grew up in the state, but has since settled down in Nashville. But many of his closest collaborators are Midwesterners, and it's become easy to identify others within the industry who are from the same region.

"We tour so much, and you can kind of tell when someone's from the Midwest," he said. "I think Midwesterners have like a certain, like, caring attitude about themselves. But also, you know, a lot of people in the Midwest like to hide their emotions, and hide their feelings, but are also very receptive to people being open and raw."

Hear Michigander's full conversation with April Baer on the Stateside podcast.

[Get Stateside on your phone: subscribe on Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTube, or YouTube Music today.]

GUESTS ON TODAY’S SHOW:

  • Jason Singer, the musician and songwriter known as Michigander
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Kalloli Bhatt is a Stateside Production Assistant. She's currently a senior at Western Michigan University.
Ronia Cabansag is a producer for Stateside. She comes to Michigan Public from Eastern Michigan University, where she earned a BS in Media Studies & Journalism and English Linguistics with a minor in Computer Science.