Kelsey pounds, pings, stings, pops, and pulls music out of every part of his instrument or anything else an arm's length or foot kick away in a funky, rhythmic style he calls progressive/aggressive acoustic guitar. Guitar wizard/singer songwriter/performance artist/entertainer all in a one-man-band package, Kelsey performs music for the eyes and ears.

A native of Lafayette, Indiana, Michael Kelsey cut his musical teeth on electric lead and bass guitars in a variety of cover bands from progressive jazz to rock. He spent five years as a recording engineer and arranger in his own studio before closing it to pursue his solo career. After placing as a finalist in Guitar Player magazine's national competition, he switched from electric to acoustic guitar to take advantage of the broader variety of sounds, moods and nuances available from this instrument that could increase the dimensions of his music.

In 2004 the music store chain Guitar Center held its "Guitarmageddon" Guitar competition. After three months of searching through 3000 guitar players to find the nation's best unsigned guitarist, the judges selected Michael as the winner.

Michael has toured nationally as the opening act for Blind Melon and Dishwalla. He has opened shows for such notables as Adrian Legg, Tim Reynolds, Cowboy Junkies, The Bodeans and John Wesley Harding. After performing an opening set for folk artist David Wilcox, David described Kelsey's show as 'Cirque Du Soleil' on acoustic guitar."