Michael Tiernan

Music may have saved his life. After surviving cancer at age 16, music became his helpmate in processing the ‘big questions’ that came to him at an early age. At 18, he took his newly found passion for life and music traveling the country in a van with a group of wacky Catholic hippies giving retreats to young people. College found him criss-crossing through Europe with his guitar. His creativity blossomed and matured in very unconventional ways, finding Tiernan hanging with monks deep in desert monasteries and later living in the Vatican as a seminarian in his 20’s on the way to becoming a priest. Yet he left that calling for a higher one - music. Years later, now a seasoned performer and award-winning songwriter - what would a person like this have to say about life? Plenty, especially when magnified through the prism of a song.

Meet Michael Tiernan. Michael is an artist who has plunged into and explored the deep spaces of personal and worldly conflict, the beauty of love and nature, as well as the meaning of suffering and pervasive unhappiness that threatens our human experience on all sides. In his music, he resurfaces from these depths beaming with a positive outlook for all of us.


Throughout Tiernan’s career, he has seamlessly melded elements of folk, reggae, bluegrass, blues, soul, and modern pop rock into his own brand of acoustic guitar-centric music.

Bart Mendoza from the San Diego reader comments, “Tiernan’s rep grows with each release. Crucial to his success is that he’s a great all-around entertainer, from musicianship to between-song banter. All of his albums to date have won or been nominated for music awards around the country, but it’s his live set that’s helped Tiernan become one the area’s most popular singer-songwriters." The San Diego Troubadour notes Tiernan's releases are "relentlessly catchy, slickly produced pop that reflects Michael Tiernan’s ability as a master of hooks - and it has something to say.” Tiernan has received international airplay of many of his releases over the years, as well as several placements of his music in national TV shows.



2024 finds Michael ready to release his 8th studio album, "For Others" (Summer/Fall 2024), a collection of Custom Songs that he has written for other people, based on in-depth interviews and deep dives into the inspiring stories of others.

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Michael is also a gifted speaker/presenter and offers keynote concert addresses for companies and associations, bringing inspiration through story and song to audiences of all types.