Mike Archer

Mike Archer

Mike Archer is an American singer-songwriter whose music draws on country and rock, with influences including John Mellencamp, Jimmy Buffett, Jim Croce and Bruce Springsteen. His songs focus on the lives of working people and everyday successes. He is born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and says Indianapolis is home, where he grows up with his mother, his younger sister Shelly and her family.

Early life and sport

Archer spends much of his youth focused on basketball. He becomes a High School All-American, plays for Indiana/Purdue University and later plays professionally in Manchester, England. He buys his first guitar in 1991, but does not return to music seriously until 2000, when his cousin Larry gives him his first proper lesson.

Music career

After resuming guitar, Archer learns quickly and plays his first live show around ten months later, performing rhythm guitar in a band that opens for country singer Joe Diffie. He moves to Kentucky and draws inspiration from small-town life. His first solo performance takes place in 2003 at Two Roads Café in Danville, Kentucky, and he continues to prefer small, intimate venues where he can meet audiences directly.

He performs both solo and with local bands around the region. In 2007, he opens for B J Thomas and Billy Joe Royal in Sellersburg, Indiana. His debut album is The Next Best Thing, and his second studio album, Shoulda Coulda Woulda, follows as a result of that release’s success.

Other work

Archer also acts in a small number of independent films and commercials. He says this experience helps him understand how to inhabit a role on stage and improves his performance.

Broadcast work

He also contributes to Lexington station WLXX 92.9, where he performs an original song each week to close out sporting news for the University of Kentucky Wildcats.