Michael Austin Interview
BL Shirelle sat down with Michael Austin the day we recorded “Is It Hope?” and interviewed him on the song, his upbringing, and how he survived being wrongfully convicted and serving 27 years in prison. Check out the Single and the interview below!
Michael Austin is a singer, songwriter, public speaker, and prison reform advocate living and working in Baltimore, Maryland. Austin spent 27 years in prison, falsely convicted of killing a man in a Baltimore City grocery store robbery on April 29, 1974. Austin had nothing to do with the murder or the robbery.
Austin had discovered his love of music at the age of 12, while watching his older brother practice and perform with his R&B group. From that time on, becoming an artist and performer was always in the back of his mind. It wasn't until the age of 26, while Austin was serving time for his wrongful conviction, that he was able to reconnect with his love of music and creating. While in prison, music became Michael's sanctuary to freedom.
Austin was finally exonerated in 2001, with a Baltimore Judge reversing all convictions and giving him financial restitution. "Never giving up and never giving in and believing that justice will prevail, that's basically what kept me going and helped me maintain my sanity," says Austin. Since his homecoming, Austin has performed all around the country and the world. From the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in Wilmington, Delaware, to The Blues Alley in Washington, D.C, Princeton University, The Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, all the way to Durban, South Africa, where he was part of a special, collaborative performance at the Bat Centre. Austin also wrote and produced his debut solo album I Just Want to Love You.
Austin’s music and storytelling is a generous and courageous offering of his heart, truth, and all he has learned about life, perseverance and redemption. His release from Groove Therapy "Is It Hope?" is a rhythm & blues record about community, faith and love. It's a message that is needed in our inner city communities desperately. Michael Austin NEVER let his devastating experience as an innocent man destroy his spirit — and he's back sending love out to the world.