Press

Bold Life, Western N. Carolina
Using a unique format, Mike Cullison and his band of "regulars" deliver an album full of classic honkytonk country slathered in rock, blues and even a bit of zydeco. While all the songs are co-written by Cullison, he's got a group of over a dozen performers on The Barstool Monologues that really serves to infuse the album with a sociable, collaborative feeling. The album begins with a bartender named Hollis welcoming us to his bar, The Oasis. Between each song, Hollis comes back to give us the lowdown on a certain patron, whose narrative is the subject of the next song. Almost each song is sung by a different band member, which really sells the illusion that these characters are themselves singing us their stories. Without coming off the slightest bit gimmicky, this approach allows Cullison to put an extra dimension on the music, and he does a great job painting this picture of this little roadhouse and the lives of its regulars. It draws the listener in, allowing us the opportunity to see behind the curtain of the world from where he draws his musical inspiration. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the caliber of the musicianship is top-notch either. The Regulars are obviously devotees of old-school country, but it's evident that they draw from a deep musical well. Between the songs themselves and the storytelling behind them, I think any listener will feel they got way more than their money's worth from The Barstool Monologues.

Singer Magazine
Singer Magazine


“With honest lyrics and enjoyable vocals, Mike Cullison spans the Americana genre of blues, rock-a-billy, and classic country. Mike Cullison brings to the table a love of honky tonk music and a general good time. ”

— unknown, Singer Magazine

The Alternate Root
The Alternate Root Music Magazine

"The Songs on "Blue Collar Tired" keep on the theme and keep the glasses full. The topics travel between the bar and loving arms that stay true, stay a little too out of reach. The song titles tell the story, "Pour Hank On The Pain", "More Of The Same", "Break My Fall", don't hide secret messages. Mike has a way to telling a real tale and keeping your attention with the truth, hard driving rhythms and country sways."

The Alternate Root Music Magazine.

heard on the street
Mike Cullison's music is muscular, visceral and not for sissies. There's not an ounce of pretty-boy fluff anywhere in his catalog. His vocals reflect the spirit of an American poet whose roots extend from the raw Country of the Hank Williams/Carl Smith era to the Sun sound of Memphis to the sweet, sweat-soaked Soul of the Stax studio and is always encased in a deep agreeable groove.
Mike Cullison proves Mozart's admonition that great music "should never stray very far from the dance," --even his more serious tunes contain that rhythm that makes one want to move a little. His message penetrates because his songs hit you in the gut...and the butt, with each of them delivered by a voice that sounds almost like a regular guy, but how many regular guys do you know that can throw down like that? The songs are prime examples of craft -- not some strung-together series of catch-phrases and repetitive nonsense -- these are SONGS -- with structure...and purpose...and meaning, and each addresses the issues that come with being human, as all art should do.
Mike Cullison is John Wayne with a guitar, and a white soul brother. D.R. Nashville


Music City News
Music News Nashville

“There’s a deep, dark dungeon/In the bottom of the glass.” Hank Williams, Sr. couldn’t have said it any more whiskeyfied than singer-songwriter Mike Cullison in “Whiskey Memory,” one of six original tracks on his new EP, “Roadhouse Rambler.” Growing up in Oklahoma, and now living in Nashville, the artist has a hand in penning every honky-tonker and blues-a-billy tune here, recounting stories of did-her-wrong woes, did-me-wrong women, and bars.
Blues musician Mark Robinson produced the record, and raises the cool factor in the room with his tasty guitar licks and tremolo vibes. On “Drinkin’ Songs,” Cullison conjures up the spirit of Hank on a bed of sorrowful steel guitar with an ache and a twang in his “everyman” delivery, and is reminiscent of Dwight Yokum on the traditional “Blue Neon Heartache,” where he confesses: “She left me with a blue neon heartache/I’m having me a few, drown in my mistakes/I knew her heart would bend/I never dreamed it would break.” by Janet Goodman

The UK
Fans of classic country music will feel right at home with Mike Cullison and, unless the hint of a honky-tonk brings you out in hives, I think you'll find Roadhouse Rambler very amiable company. John Davy, Flyinshoes Review

UK and beyond
Country Music like it used to be and you know he's not far wrong"
- R2 Magazine UK

"Fans of classic country music will feel right at home with Mike Cullison and, unless the hint of a honky-tonk brings you out in hives, I think you'll find Roadhouse Rambler very amiable company. "
- John Davy, Flyinshoes Review (Oct 01, 2011)

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