Mike Lawson

Mike Lawson is an American singer-songwriter born and raised in New York’s Mohawk Valley region, and currently resides in Norfolk, Virginia. Lawson combines rich, and at times guttural, baritone vocals with lush musical textures that meld influences of folk, blues, country, and pop.

Lawson formed the band The Vir in 2014, and released a three-song, self-titled EP on January 11, 2015, featuring “Old Train Car.” The EP was well received and rated as exceptional by VEER Magazine. The Vir was nominated for four VEER Music Awards in 2016 including Emerging Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for “Old Train Car.” In 2016, Lawson left The Vir to pursue a solo career and recently completed recording his full-length LP, Lie Here with Me. 

Lie Here with Me, Lawson’s self-produced debut, features 10 homespun songs that delve into the juxtaposition of falling in love and losing love, and the cyclical process of trying to find yourself while searching for someone else. Lawson weaves acoustic guitars with warm reverb-laden electric guitars and piano, creating melodic tapestries tinged with melancholy and nostalgia. Jeff Pierce and Dave Lockett, whom Lawson collaborated with on The Vir’s EP, recorded bass and drums respectively for Lie Here with Me. Maryland-based singer-songwriter Zhaklina Poulos provides harmonies on “Charlottesville,” “Family and Friends and Love of Life,” and “What Are You Waiting For?”

Lawson’s live performances are a mix of honest, deeply personal songs offset with wry anecdotes from his own relationships and travels. He has performed some of Southeastern Virginia’s largest festivals including O’Connoroo, The Downtown Hampton Block Party, and The Virginia Beach Craft Beer Festival. Lawson has received radio play on WROX-FM and Out of the Box on WHRO, and has opened for touring acts Nico Franc, Victoria Canal, and Sons of Bill.