Mike Rathke’s musical journey began in high school, doing local shows in the Kansas metalcore scene. At age nineteen, he came into the Christian faith and utilized his love of music to serve in the local church. Mike’s faith remains central to his journey but he does not strictly consider himself either a Christian or secular artist. Instead, he prefers to let his music tell the story, musing on the various facets of everyday life, through song.

In the early 2000s, he began experimenting with home recordings, eventually self-producing three albums, Never Change, Spoken Words and the Word that’s Spoken, and Letters from the Father. Rathke’s 2019 release, The Dawning Fire, was recorded at The Sound Emporium in Nashville with producer Billy Chapin (Backstreet Boys, Sister Hazel, Edwin McCain) and co-producer Brandon Bailey.

With touring put on hold in 2020, Mike self-produced two additional projects, The Discipline of Dismay and The Harlot and the Bride. The songs contained in these albums reflect Mike’s passion for honest and introspective lyrics, encased in a tasteful bed of modern folk music. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.