Mike Mentz

If wanderlust has a soundtrack, singer-songwriter-traveler Mike Mentz has spent the last 10 years writing it.

From living in Paris playing guitar on the banks of the Seine to years of international touring through the Caribbean, Baltic, Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and all over Western Europe, Mike has gotten a good jump on globetrotting. Having performed in over 35 countries, his "travelpop" sound and lyrics are shaped by the always changing world around him.

"Perspective is priceless", says the songwriter. "Travel opens your eyes. When you watch the sun rise from somewhere new, your world gets a little bit bigger. I love that."

After growing up in Chicago, Mike's home base has been anything but permanent, having spent the majority of his time traveling. He moved to Nashville in 2011.

Named “One To Watch” by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, Mentz is frequently hosted as a featured songwriter at Nashville's legendary Bluebird Cafe. "Living in Nashville for a few years was like a de facto Master's degree in songwriting", he explains. "At writer's rounds, I heard at least a song a night that would give me chills. Being around that kind of talent, you either throw in the towel or try like hell to keep up."

In 2014, Mentz left Nashville to travel full-time.

His latest album, entitled Souvenir, features songs Mike has written almost entirely in transit -- from the streets and cafés and airport bars of Paris, San Juan, Dublin, Barcelona, Bangkok, Tallinn, Chicago, Istanbul, Nashville, and a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Industry ears have taken notice: Souvenir (slotted for release in 2019) has already been nominated for Adult Contemporary Album Of The Year by the Independent Music Awards, and Mentz's music has been played on Sirius XM Radio.

After recording Souvenir in a pristine Nashville studio, Mike decided to take the tunes halfway around the world. "I wanted to get them dirty", Mentz explains. "I couldn't be more excited about the studio sound we got in Nashville, but I wrote these songs out on the road...I wanted to record them out there, too." Along with a camera crew and a few friends, Mike traveled to Thailand to record live, acoustic versions of the songs. He returned with a vibrant suite of music videos and documentary episodes (Official Selections of five international film festivals and counting), and a companion album simply titled Live In Thailand which has been nominated for Live Album Of The Year by the Independent Music Awards (also slotted for release in 2019).

This fall, Mike will be appearing on brand-new national television songwriting competition "The Song".

With a lot more to see, Mike is focused on connecting with fans all over the world and taking his tunes to cities both foreign and familiar.