Bio

Michelle Lynn specializes in taking true tales from the past -  full of depravity, folly, and vice - and presenting them as melodies for inspiration, amusement, and reflection in her series called History Helps.  The Decorah duo of teacher/writer Michelle Lynn and bassist/Luther programming tech Adam Ptacek enjoy playing music throughout the summer.  Michelle also enjoys writing and presenting about creativity.

Show highlights from the past few years include the Des Moines Art Festival, Austin Artsworks Festival, Great River Folk Festival, Cedar Rapid's Farmer's Market, Lake Harriet Band Shell, Seed Saver's Tomato Tasting, Cresco Opera House, Elkader Opera House, Nordic Fest, Riverfest, Winona's Earth Day Festival, and Wausa's Festival of the Arts - among hundreds of other performances. At some of these shows, she was excited to share the stage with musicians such as Pieta Brown, Bo Ramsey, Lissie, Ann Reed, Trina Hamlin, and John Stravers of Big Blue Sky.  She has opened for musicians as diverse as Chris Koza, General B and The Wiz, and Joe and Vicki Price.  Michelle's songs have also been featured on the Eau Claire based radio program Song of the Soul and Coast to Coast AM with a worldwide audience of over 3 million listeners.

Michelle Lynn grew up on a century farm outside of Monona, IA near Effigy Mounds National Monument. Having always been interested in many forms of writing, she received her first guitar on her 17th birthday and soon began writing songs. She recorded her first album 2 years later and then began performing locally. 

NE Iowa arts monthly Tapestry Magazine described her debut album Jump Roping in Chains (2005) as “A fearless collection of songs that strips away any pretension…” A local newspaper noted at the time, "Her voice comes out confident and reassured, her songs possess tightly woven lyrics and her guitar playing ability is inspiring and mature." This warm local response, coupled with her relentless performance schedule, broadened her horizons and introduced her to many new friends, supporters, and collaborators.  Her second album, Hospital Radio, was released in the spring of 2008 with the assistance of area musicians Adam Ptacek and Matt Olson (Rearview Mirror). This musical partnership would help drive her vision and sound forward in the future.  After spending a year in Austin, TX she returned with an album titled Pre-Echoes for the Postmodern (2009), and was in the position to devote herself to performing and recording music full-time. A radio producer in Wisconsin proclaimed that “Michelle models growth and insight through her music; passing on lessons of development and transformation.”

2010’s Sundial Tree was written exclusively in Texas and is the first record to feature Ptacek and Olson—now dubbed “The Bad Passengers”—backing her on nearly every song. With her music and vision further developed, Inspire(d) Magazine publisher Benji Nichols declared her “a regional favorite amongst music enthusiasts.”  Michelle came into her own with her most recent record, Without an Outline (2012).  

More recently - happily finding herself as a local teacher - Michelle has become interested in writing thematic song batches representing non-fiction characters from the past.  Her current collection of over thirty songs focuses on The Civil War and The Gilded Age of the 1800s and early 1900s.  This collection of songs is an evolving writing exercise that she enjoys.