Live Music: Michael Hearne

Michael Hearne is a singer-songwriter originally from Dallas, Texas, who began playing guitar at the age of seven and quickly found himself performing at local events. By sixteen, he was touring as a musician, beginning a career that would span decades across the Southwest and beyond. He spent many years living in Taos, New Mexico, where he built a reputation as a performer and songwriter, sharing his music in bars, dance halls, and listening rooms throughout the region.

Hearne has written songs recorded by artists such as Jerry Jeff Walker, Gary P. Nunn, and Johnny Rodriguez, including “New Mexico Rain.” He also toured with Michael Martin Murphey in the 1980s and recorded on Murphey’s 1982 album. Over the years, he has released numerous albums as both a solo artist and with his band South by Southwest.

In 2003, he founded the Big Barn Dance Music Festival, a gathering of songwriters and musicians that continues to draw audiences from across the country.