Michael Morgan Donehey (born September 30, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist primarily known for his work in the

contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

band Tenth Avenue North. After amicably disbanding in 2021, the band reformed with two new members in 2023 with Mike Donehey returning as lead singer. He is also a solo artist and has authored the books ''Finding God's Life for My Will'' and ''Grace in the Gray: A More Loving Way to Disagree'' and hosts the "Chasing the Beauty" podcast.

Early life

Donehey was born to Dan and Sharon Donehey in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

in 1980. He graduated from Fredericksburg Christian School in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...

in 1999. He attended FCS from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through graduation and played varsity

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. Donehey was involved in a near-fatal, single-car accident on Mine Road in Spotsylvania County during his senior year of high school. He broke his back in two places, broke his skull, and had an ear ripped off. He was told he would never walk again. He picked up a guitar during his days in the hospital and began to write music. He recovered and moved to Florida to attend Palm Beach Atlantic University where Tenth Avenue North was formed.

Musical and written work

Donehey founded Tenth Avenue North with Jason Jamison in 2000. The band grew to become one of the most popular acts in

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

, releasing fifteen original music projects with multiple

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

albums and

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

gold singles. During his time with Tenth Avenue North, Donehey was a guest vocalist on tracks from

Hawk Nelson Hawk Nelson was a Canadian Christian pop-punk band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released eight studio albums. Bassist/backing vocalist Daniel Biro was the band's only founding member to remain throughout their entire ...

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, and Record producer, recording producer and Music executive, executive. Since having begun his career in 2004, he has released ten studio alb ...

, and Jars of Clay, among others. In 2019, Donehey published his first book entitled ''Finding God's Life for My Will: His Presence is the Plan''. Donehey said the book was inspired by a frequent question he received: "Young artists come up to me and say, 'How did you know this was God's will for your life?' And the question behind the question is, 'I want to do what you are doing. How can I get there?' I always respond to that question -- 'How did you know this was God's will for your life?' -- aying'I don't and I never did.' Their face scrunches and they don't like that answer. We want to think God has an occupation for us because most of us view God as a means to some other end, a genie in a bottle and reward program. ... I don't think God is impressed with my resumé. He's calling for my heart, not my career. So Finding God's Life for My Will was the natural book to write to answer that question, to say, 'You need to stop worrying about what God's will for your life is. Stop asking God permission to go do what you love.' … God doesn't care if you are a banker as much as he cares as what kind of a banker are you."Tenth Avenue North Explores Faith, Shame and Regret on New Album 'No Shame'
/ref> The book was an ECPA Bestseller. Tenth Avenue North announced an amicable split in 2020, and Donehey began releasing music as a solo artist. He used

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

to finance his first studio album, and reached his funding goal on

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

in 13 hours.Mike Donehey Ventures Into Solo Territory With Debut EP 'Work Of Art
/ref> He released two EPs, ''Work of Art'' and ''A Father and Two Sons'', as well as a single, ''Better'', in 2020. After Tenth Avenue North played its farewell shows and formally disbanded in April 2021, he released his first single as a solo artist, "All Together". His first studio album, ''Flourish'', was released on August 27, 2021. In November 2022, Donehey released a new single called "Yeshua (Friend of Sinners)". This was followed up with a version of the song featuring

Jillian Edwards Jillian Anita Chapman, known professionally as Jillian Edwards, is an American singer-songwriter who primarily plays indie folk and indie pop. She has released five albums; ''Galaxies & Such'' in 2009, ''Headfirst'' in 2011, ''Daydream'', ''All ...

, released on April 7, 2023 (Good Friday).

Discography

Tenth Avenue North

* '' Over and Underneath'' (2008) * '' The Light Meets the Dark'' (2010) * '' The Struggle'' (2012) * ''

Cathedrals A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

'' (2014) * '' Followers'' (2016) * ''No Shame'' (2019)

Solo

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Other charted songs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donehey, Mike 1981 births Living people American performers of Christian music Palm Beach Atlantic University alumni Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Guitarists from Nebraska 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists