Michael Warren Starts a New Chapter: Intimate Release Party with a Strong Seattle Vibe

Michael Warren may still be a relatively unknown name to many, but behind this new guitar-driven sound lies an already extensive musical history. He has worked as a composer for film and TV and moved within the European club scene as a producer and DJ. With Once American, he has taken a completely different direction, turning his gaze toward a period of his life in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

Here, the guitar and the stories take center stage. Places, people, and memories from the Seattle area have found their way directly into the music—which also explains track titles like Mad Men of Ballard, Fremont Bridge, SODO, 3rd Ave Pigeon Man, and 520 Bridge / Mount Rainier. It’s music rooted in folk, blues, and alternative rock, but with a darkness that at times evokes the rawer expressions of Seattle and grunge.

And it’s precisely this music that has really captivated me.

If Spotify were a cassette tape, my copy would probably be completely worn out by now. Michael Warren has been on repeat for the past month, and Once American has become one of those rare albums where I don't really feel the need to skip a single track.

Of course, I have my favorites. 3rd Ave Pigeon Man ranks very high, along with Mad Men of Ballard and SODO. But at the same time, the rest are damn good too. It’s rare to come across an album where the feeling after the last track is that every song truly holds up all the way.

So when the opportunity arises to see Michael Warren live in Sweden, it’s hard not to feel a little extra excited.

The fact that it also happens under very special circumstances hardly makes it worse.

For the release party at Gamestreet 1, very few people even know the concert is happening, and I am one of them. This creates a peculiar anticipation ahead of the show. Somehow, it almost feels more tense than before a giant gig at Avicii Arena. There, tens of thousands of people are waiting for the same moment. Here, only a handful of us know what is about to happen.

On stage, it is stripped down to the max. Just Michael Warren and LAVEN, and together they quickly show that no big production is needed for the material to work live.

During the evening, we hear, among others, Mad Men of Ballard, Fremont Bridge, SODO, and 520 Bridge / Mount Rainier. Songs that over the past month have been firmly embedded in my head suddenly leave the headphones and take on a whole new life in front of me.

Above all, Mad Men of Ballard and SODO are fantastic tonight. There is a rawness in the performance that suits the music perfectly, while the stripped-down format gives both the melodies and the stories plenty of room.

And then there’s 3rd Ave Pigeon Man.

Here I actually have to withhold judgment. During the evening, I tried to check off the songs as they were played, but for some reason I didn’t check off 3rd Ave Pigeon Man. Whether it’s because it wasn’t played or because I was simply too engrossed in the concert to remember the list, I can’t say.

And naturally, that’s a bit typical, since it’s one of my absolute favorites from the album.

Technically, the evening is not entirely without flaws. Some details aren’t one hundred percent, but at the same time, it’s hard to demand perfection from a live show that’s still at the beginning of its journey. On the contrary, there’s something charming about experiencing it right now, before all the edges have been smoothed out and every second is routine.

Because there is hardly any doubt that the material is there.

This is also where the strength of Once American becomes so clear. When several of the songs are taken from the album and stand on their own in a much more stripped-down live format, they still hold up. It’s not an album that relies on two or three obvious singles with fillers in between. On the contrary, it feels like almost any song could be brought out during the evening without the quality dropping noticeably.

That’s unusual.

At the same time, it’s hard not to think about how this could develop with more musicians on stage and a bigger production around it. Because when the songs already work this well in their simplest form, there’s plenty of potential to allow them to grow even further live.

That’s why this evening feels a bit like a sneak peek at what might be waiting down the line. We get to experience Michael Warren and LAVEN in a format where the songs are entirely at the center, with an undeniable feeling: this is just the beginning.

If my gut feeling is at all correct, it won’t be long before Michael Warren and LAVEN take the step up to much bigger stages. There’s still room to grow—and that’s almost the most exciting part of all.

So take the chance while you can still experience them in such intimate settings.

And for goodness' sake, don’t miss this.

The release party at Gamestreet 1 thus marks the release of Michael Warren’s new album Once American. And after having heard several of the songs live, there’s really only one thing left to say: find the album on your streaming service of choice, turn up the volume, and listen from start to finish.

For once, I really mean the whole album.

You’re unlikely to be disappointed.