Personal History

For more than twenty years Michael Kelly Blanchard has written songs (Be Ye Glad , Danny's Downs, I Love You, I Do, You Bet ), prose ( Unsung Heroes ), and plays ("Gamaliel", "Heart Guard") which connect us to the merciful heart of God. As a solo performer on guitar and piano, Michael tells stories with a tender touch to help us laugh and cry at both the human condition and the renewing power of God's unconditional love.

Raised in a Christian, arts-loving home, Michael Kelly Blanchard apprenticed for his life's work as storyteller/songwriter from the very beginning. Always, there was the intertwining of art and faith in his parents' home. Mostly through music and literature (his father a fiddler, his mother an English teacher), he saw firsthand the blending of belief with the blessings of creativity. He started writing songs in his early teens. This coincided with an ever-expanding work as a performer in local clubs and coffeehouses. In his early twenties, he studied composition at Berklee College of Music, sharpening his music skills. Since then he has recorded ten albums, written two music dramas, one cantata and three novels.

Michael has been married to his wife, Greta, for 32 years and they have two adult children, Esther and Reuben.