Perry began writing songs in the early 1990s during long nights when he was struggling to survive on prose (he is the author of numerous books including: Population 485, Truck, The Scavengers, and the New York Times bestseller Visiting Tom). With no arts background (he has a nursing degree) he found himself drawn especially to the work of poets and singer/songwriters. (In interviews Perry tends to list his greatest literary influences as Dylan Thomas and Steve Earle – and not necessarily in that order.) “I remember writing late one night and hearing a Kevin Welch song with the line, ‘I whiskey’d up my coffee cup… sittin’ here tryin’ not to call you up,’” says Perry, “and I was floored by the rhythm and the story in that single line…” He began writing songs as a way to break up all-night typing sessions, and eventually he had enough of them that a musician friend invited him to play at a coffee shop. “I’m not saying I was nervous, but I ripped out a sixty-minute set list in thirty-two minutes flat,” says Perry. By 2004, he had begun recruiting the Long Beds. In 2006, he released his first album, Headwinded.

Since then Michael has released 4 albums, several singles, and toured backed by a collection of renowned musicians who have performed on numerous stages throughout the world (including The Tonight Show, Austin City Limits, and Eaux Claires festival) and worked with a host of artists, including Bon Iver, S. Carey, The Staves, Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Field Report, The Tallest Man on Earth, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and many more.

Every Long Beds show is built on roughneck ballads and freight train rockers interspersed with hilarious off-the-cuff tales from Mike’s diverse experience as a Wisconsin farm kid turned cowboy turned nurse turned best selling author and humorist (as featured on the recent PBS special Michael Perry: On the Road).