Between its driving rhythms, vocal panache, and melodies designed to hook deep, a careless listener might think Mike Ring's music is simply bombastic indie-pop. While the 24-year-old Colorado songwriter powers his songs with an infectious energy—both in his highly polished recordings and manic live show—his true artistic stamp is honesty and intimacy of his lyrics. Ring's lyrical voice is bold and unique, finding deep emotional resonance in sharp, elegant images and straightforward language. His ability to wrestle with themes of love, family, longing, and hope with clarity and immediacy drive the verve of his music. After falling in love with its small but rich music scene, Ring moved to Greeley, CO in 2012, and began crafting his songs in a space where close collaboration with other artists and openness with music fans is the norm. It's this sensibility, that music is about reaching out and making connections which encourage others to tell their stories, that Ring carries with him as he breaks into Denver. Ring's wide palette of musical colors, which range from folk to funk to math rock to RnB, is made possible by his careful staffing of his band with virtuosic players (Noel Billups - keyboards, Dan Salisbury - drums), fellow vocal dynamos (Mariah Foster, C.J. Welch) and high-energy bruisers (Pie Lombardi - guitar, Paul Buscarello - percussion). As live performers, Ring and his band are a journey that begins with Ring's charisma and penchant for spectacular (and often destructive) stage antics and ends with the quiet vulnerability that elevates the band beyond most pop acts. Billowing rock organs fade to ethereal pads, jagged guitars descend into ghostly feedback, and Ring's electric vocal runs become a whisper. With his new single, "Where the Water Runs", Ring confidently brings his craft to the next level. The song is prayer of hope for those facing depression and suicide; it is both deeply personal and wholly relatable. Paired with a short documentary, a portion of the song's proceeds will be donated to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. “Where the Water Runs” is a boldness in both writing and production. Ring sets his sights high for this track and what we see is a musician both comfortable enough in his own skin and confident enough to go for it. -Bandwagon Magazin