Over the course of this 30-year music career, Peter Mulvey has released more than 20 albums, written hundreds of songs, played thousands of shows all over the world, shared bills with a wealth of notable performers, and helped to enact change though his efforts as an activist and environmentalist. Before the Massachusetts-based singer and songwriter was gathering experiences and sharing his perspective with audiences spread far and wide, he was a theater kid growing up in Milwaukee.
Prior to setting out on the road for a run of Midwestern shows (including a homecoming concert at The Back Room @ Colectivo on February 17), Mulvey told My First Band host Tyler Maas about growing up on Milwaukee’s northwest side, starting a band while attending college at Marquette, changing his artistic trajectory after busking in Ireland during a semester abroad, starting out in the Boston folk scene, the ups and downs of touring, and some of the standout experiences from the past three decades. Along the way, Mulvey and Maas gush about how much they both like SistaStrings.
My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Lakefront Brewery. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth (“The Junction Street Eight Tigers”) and Peter Mulvey with SistaStrings (“Don’t You Ever Change”).