Michael Jones’ love of family pervades his music. As the artist behind the alternative country project Lazarus Lake, he titled his inaugural single “Family Tree” to express his yearning for the family ties that brought him up, like a sapling sprouting from the East Tennessee soil. “A mulberry tree actually grew in my grandparents' front yard,” Michael says. “My grandfather and I would shake mulberries onto a tarp, then we’d put them in a bowl, wash the dirt and gravel off of them, and stick ‘em in the fridge.” Much like fruit from a tree, Michael has been reaping the benefits of his family’s love of music, from the very beginning until now. "I want my audience to hear the sounds and stories of my childhood, and through my music, I want to reconnect them to their roots.”