What Matters is the silence between the notes

Michael Neill is a singer and artist originally from Cape Town, South Africa. Starting from humble beginnings, he has been singing from a very young age. Growing up in church gave Michael an opportunity to perform in front of people for the first time and this encouraged him to enter talent competitions. This was the beginning of his ambitious journey to become the accomplished performer he is today.

Michael desired to travel and see the world and to explore the planet resulted in him joining an airline in the Middle East for a period and later on, working as an English teacher in Asia. He returned to South Africa and made the decision to restart his music career. Unfortunately, the 2020 lockdown and Covid 19 shut down his music world and much like everyone else, Michael was forced to put things on hold yet again. During this time, he began working on his other passion and dream project. Fashion! Michael Neill Apparel was designed and founded during the pandemic and currently has several retail outlets in South Africa just a short year after it’s launch. The perfect marriage between music and fashion.

As the world slowly opened up post lockdown, his musical plans were swiftly put back into place. This has resulted in Michael successfully performing many gigs, also participating in large concerts and beginning the process of recording his own album and the release his own singles as well as that of other composers which much this will be released in the year 2022.

Q&A

As we introduce Michael to the world, we thought a great starting point would be to give you an excerpt of a recent interview with him. No doubt, you would all like to know a little more about him – feel free to email any questions you have to us and we will answer them in our updates on the site.

What is the most daunting performance you have ever had?

As a young man, at my college graduation, I somehow volunteered myself to produce and perform a show in front of a few thousand people. At that point, the last time I had sung in front of even a small crowd, I was a young boy. I had background singers and made a great show of it, but whoa, that was daunting!

Have you performed with anyone famous at this point in your career?

I hate to name drop, but I did recently open for one of South Africa’s top artists, Jesse Clegg. He was very gracious towards me before I sang. We shared a great whiskey, which certainly calmed the nerves. My overriding thought though, was that everybody had actually come to see him and therefore, how would they react to me? Fortunately, it went off very well.

The best place you have performed?

It’s a tricky question! I put together my own concert for Valentine’s Day at Harald’s Bar at the Park Inn in Cape Town. It’s an open roof top bar under the stars and Table Mountain. I was able to put together MY show -costume changes, theatrics, humour and great music in a beautiful setting. I loved the freedom of being me. Having said that, my first gig after lockdown was a performance in the streets of Cape Town, performing for all the surrounding restaurants. Very memorable! However to answer our question, I think you should ask me that in a year from now, you may get a much better answer. The best is yet to come.

What is the most difficult part of your career?

Consistency! Taking care of yourself as a person, your voice and your body. As somebody who suffers from anxiety issues and all the ups and downs and all arounds that come with it, I have realized the importance of looking after oneself. But doing what you love in life is definitely not given to everybody so I find very little of this difficult, I am blessed and excited for the journey ahead.

What is your favourite type of performance?

I have done street parties, weddings, corporate events, private dinner parties and my own shows. I love to sing and bring joy to people with my music. The setting is not important to me but I mostly enjoy being able to put together an entire show, an audio and visual experience that will be unforgettable and worth the ticket.

Tell us something about yourself that people do not know.

I truly love fashion and how it helps me evolve and embrace my creativity and that’s why I launched my own fashion brand, Michael Neill Apparel. The brand focuses on luxury male fashion, but we have some surprises for the ladies in the near future and I can’t wait! It’s definitely my second passion and I love it so much.

Concert Dates

Catch Michael in concert at any of the following shows:

MUSIC

Michael's music

Michael Neill is a consummate performer , the music he performs tells a story, brings back a memory and touches people’s hearts. His performances are magnetic, full of energy and will leave you wanting to hear more. His voice is captivating and simply exquisite. He always performs across many genres and loves to mix up the type of music he sings. Michael is currently working on various different genres and sounds as he gets ready for new releases of his music and is planning releases which span a ide range from ballads to more modern pop.

A typical performance will see him perform real music, taking classics and breathing life into them in his own style, from country/western, blues and modern dance pop. That is exactly what his music is – an eclectic mixture of beautiful sounds. That aid, to Michael music is more than just singing. He loves to entertain his fans and make his other passion, fashion, a part of the show. Great music, fashion to match and a little bit of comedy are all part of what you get with him.

Above all, stirring music, performed beautifully, is what will bring you all back, again and again and again! Please listen and enjoy.