Mike Elrington

Basketball prodigy, scholarship rower, mental illness survivor, blistering bluesman.   The big man of Australian blues music, Mike Elrington, has crammed a stack into his 30 plus years, but the best lies on the horizon.   Standing almost two metres tall and wielding his signature, gut-wrenching vocals like an instrument all its own, few forget a Mike Elrington performance.   His live shows leave nothing behind but sweat.   And US ears are about to get another dose, ten years after the man from Adelaide first toured the states and shared a stage with BB King’s daughter Shirley.   It’ll be on the back of his latest stompin’ single Build You Up (To Cut You Down).   A typically honest account of Elrington’s second greatest struggle, to be heard, over the past 15 years as a muso, it’s the first cut off his new record, Two Lucky Stars.   The past few years have been the premium for Elrington, both as a performer – signing international publishing and management deals, track Believe getting national airplay on Australian TV institution Neighbours - and as a man, with marriage and children.   2014 produced 127 shows across every state and territory with appearances at Bluesfest Byron Bay and Sydney Blues and Roots Festival, plus gigs in New Zealand, Los Angeles and London. 2015 Is shaping up to be even bigger, with over 130 shows throughout Australia, New Zealand & the UK.   It used to be so different, though.   Elrington, whose sold in excess of 5000 units independently so far, has not just fought for airplay but some traumatic battles with himself; duelling the black dog of depression and bipolar disorder, a fight he describes as “nothing but empty and horrible”, back in 2009.   It was almost the end of him, but luckily, he found a way out through music.   "I guess the whole chase of ever-elusive success just caught up with me and really dragged me down, so I had to take a break from music for a little while & then get back into it for the right reasons, which are mainly fueled by the desire of writing songs & then sharing them in a live situation, regardless of weather there's 10 people in the room, or 10,000 at a festival."   Blues fans will be glad he did once their get their hands on 14 track EP, Two Lucky Stars, an acoustic snapshot of Elrington’s finest work plus five covers that have become guaranteed fan favorites at his live gigs.   Build You Up (To Cut You Down) is your first offering from this release. With many years as one of the hardest working artists in Australia(averaging 120 shows per year), multiple tours of the USA, and releasing 5 albums along the way, this man is only just getting started in his lifelong journey of music. "Blistering guitar playing that would make Clapton proud" Forte Magazine, Geelong, Australia "One of the most exciting acts to come out of Australia in many years!" Ed Ivey, Blues Revue Magazine, San Francisco, USA "Freakish guitar playing with an earth-shattering voice, he is most definitely possessed" The Age, Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne, VIC