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b'Michael comes by his rootsy bonafides the authentic way, as a true son of the South. From age five, he grew up in Waveland, a small Gulf town in Mississippi that sits between New Orleans and Biloxi. \\u201cIt\\u2019s a very humble, charming town. I loved growing up there,\\u201d he says. \\u201cMy dad was not making any money,\\u201d Michael explains, \\u201cso my mother cleaned churches to try to pay the bills. We lived in a little camper that had holes in the floor. I remember if you looked straight through the hole in my bedroom floor, you could see the ground underneath. The funny thing is, I thought I had everything in the world. Looking back, all I owned were a few hand-me-down toys, but it didn\\u2019t bother me at the time.\\u201d\\n\\nWhen Michael turned 13, he was discovered by Ann McNair, a singer with both Gospel and Nashville roots. She gave him a guitar, showed him the first three chords, and taught him how to write songs. At 15, Ann got Michael his first indie record deal. But \\u201cI knew just being a singer wouldn\\u2019t put bread on the table. I also needed to be a musician,\\u201d he says. So his entire 16th year, while everyone else was outside playing and getting on, he locked himself up in his bedroom and learned how to play his guitar.\\n\\nAt 17, Michael released a single called \\u201cJohn Wayne and Jesus.\\u201d With that song, he received the first-ever Country Christian Music Association (CCMA) \\u201cStar of Tomorrow\\u201d Covenant Award. \\u201cI\\u2019ll never forget that night at Ryman Auditorium,\\u201d he says, the Ryman being the original location of the Grand Ole Opry. \\u201cIt gives me chills to this day.\\u201d'