Hawaii based Singer - Songwriter Michael Barretto got his first guitar
(a Kalamazoo) at the age of six, and hasn't stopped since
A longtime Taj Mahal collaborator who has toured the world with him in his Hula Blues Band,
Michael Barretto plays guitar, banjo, ukulele, and bass. He has played on the same stage as
Taj, Corey Harris, Henry Butler, Brian Kramer, Jesse Colin Young, and Corky Siegel among others.
With his free performance style, his rich humor and storytelling in song, Barretto plays a fine
bluesy mix, always with a smooth Hawaiian swing. Michael is a pioneer of the genre known as
Island Blues: a hybrid of the blues and Island music. Coupled with his unique writing and
performance style, this Hawaiian songwriter/composer plays hearty crowd-pleasing sets filled
with smooth rhythms, swampy backbeats, and thoughtful lyrics.
Michael has played professionally since 1972 with several combos
over the years, playing Hawaiian, contemporaries and blues with Ha`upu (Hawaiian),
Loose Change (Blues), Na Kanaka (Hawaiian), with slack key guitarist Cindy Combs,
in front with "The Brian Kramer Band" (Blues, in Europe), in Australia with
"The Bullock Island Band,"
"his own outfit," and since 1994 as a member of Taj Mahal's "Hula Blues Band."
His music is heard, and he has played in several countries throughout Europe, in Australia, and in the US.
Click here for tour and booking information.
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