"SINGER, GUITARIST, HARMONICA PLAYER, AND SONGWRITER, MIKE FARRIS, BORN IN TENNESSEE (1968), HAS BEEN A CULT MUSICIAN THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER FOR A LARGE MAJORITY OF ROOTS MUSIC FANS, FREE FROM CLICHÉS AND STEREOTYPES. HE WON A GRAMMY IN 2014 FOR HIS ALBUM "SHINE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE" IN THE BLUES ROOTS GOSPEL ALBUM CATEGORY, BUT HE CONTINUED HIS PATH AS AN ARTIST FOR A SELECT FEW IN A PRIVILEGED ENVIRONMENT. IN THE NINETIES, WITH THE POWERFUL BAND SCREAMIN' CHEETAH WHEELIES, HE LED A FANTASTIC REVOLUTION IN WHICH SOUTHERN ROCK WITH HEROIC GUITARS FORESHADOWED A LONG JOURNEY FOR A SINGER WITH EPIC CONNOTATIONS. IN 2001, FARRIS ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS A SOLO ARTIST, AND THE NEXT YEAR HE RELEASED HIS FIRST ALBUM, "GOOD NIGHT SUN." SINCE THEN, HIS FIGURE HAS ONLY GROWN AS A SINGER OF GLORIOUS SONGS, A UNIQUE VOICE THAT HAS DELIGHTED LISTENERS WITH FLAVORS THAT ELEVATE BLUES AND GOSPEL TO HEIGHTS ONLY ACHIEVABLE BY AN ARTIST WHO BREAKS ANY PRECONCEIVED SCHEME. MIKE FARRIS IS A SINGER WITH A VOICE BROKEN BY SENSITIVITY, REACHING THE SUBLIME THROUGH UNEXPLORED PATHS, A VOICE THAT CANNOT BE COMPARED TO ANY OTHER, ONE THAT TRANSPORTS THE LISTENER TO UNIQUE MOMENTS OF EXQUISITE MAJESTY. BACKED BY THE ROSELAND RHYTHM REVUE, CUMBERLAND SAINTS, OR THE FORTUNATE FEW, FARRIS HAS RELEASED EIGHT ALBUMS, ALL OF WHICH ARE A MUST-LISTEN TO PROVE THAT THIS MUSICIAN HAS BEEN ESSENTIAL OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES FOR THE SURVIVAL OF ROOTS MUSIC, THROUGH THE PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT OF A MUSICIAN COMMITTED TO RENEWAL AND ACTIVATING NEW CREATIVE STANCES. ALMOST AS A CULMINATION OF A GLORIOUS STAGE, FARRIS ENTERED THE FAME STUDIOS IN MUSCLE SHOALS TO RECORD A SOUL MUSIC ALBUM. "THE SOUND OF MUSCLE SHOALS" IS A BLESSING FOR HIS FOLLOWERS, BACKED BY MUSICIANS FROM THE STUDIOS, FARRIS HAS BUILT AN ALTAR WITH SUPERB SONGS, SINGING AS IF HE WERE THE LEGEND OF SOUTHERN SOUL RETURNING TO HIS ROOTS, BUT FARRIS IS NOT, HE EMBODIES THE HIDDEN SIDE WHERE THE BEST AND MOST RESPECTED ALTERNATIVE MUSICIANS RESIDE.