Mike Semrad

“Never give up on your creative ideas. Someday they may find the right place in time to work.”, says Mike Semrad. This is a fitting quote from Semrad, as he bleeds creative energy and has been at it for nearly 35 years. Starting at the age of 4yrs old in Norfolk, Nebraska, he now releases records, runs a record label called Sower Records, makes films and videos, and writes…both music and literature. Being a musician and artist, now living in Nebraska, he also owns a creative marketing company called Red Rebel Media. For him, Nebraska, has been a fertile ground for growth and creativity. The strong sense of community that exists in Lincoln and surrounding towns has been the driving force to create.

In 2014, Semrad started a record label called Sower Records, in which they just released their 19th offering. The stable of musicians, along with other local artists, and area advocacy groups, including Bold Nebraska and Nebraskan native tribes, recently organized a concert to stop the Keystone XL pipeline, a nasty pipeline that was slated to ship crude oil from Canada through the US, only to risk the clean water that is vital for the common farmer’s irrigation. The concert that took place in Neligh, Nebraska in the middle of a cornfield, and was called ‘Harvest the Hope’. Willie Nelson and Neil Young were the featured performers, along with Mike’s band The Bottle Tops and other local artists. Their collective efforts, along with over 9,000 supporters helped to raise over $800,000 for the cause.

Semrad continues to organize groups of like-minded creatives to make positive change across the nation. The newest release entitled ‘Cloud or Mountain’, named after a poem by Bil Johnson(Wahoo, Ne.), will be released in January of 2018. This will be the first full-length record by Mike Semrad outside of previous bands. (The Bottle Tops, Haywood Yards, The Semrad Brothers)