About
The Wakefuls create and perform introspective, poetic, playful, and wildly engaging original music — what founder and songwriter Isaac Mikael has coined “Dream Freak-Folk”. After an epic inception on the Big Sur coast of California, the band has recently moved to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and settled in “the hip little town everybody loves” — Lyons, Colorado.
With a current lineup of old friends and new collaborators, The Wakefuls tap into the tender feelings and tones of the indie rock world that’s preceded them. Drawing inspiration from groups like Built To Spill, The New Pornographers, Slowdive, Wilco, Fleet Foxes, and The War On Drugs, The Wakefuls is a band full of dynamic arrangements, driving and dancy rhythms, emotionally tender lyrics, and thoughtfully arranged vocals.
“The key to all change is in our inner transformation — a change of our hearts and minds. This is human revolution.”
Who We Are
History
The Wakefuls was a project originally dreamt up by songwriter and troubadour Isaac Mikael to perform the music from the Errands EP, which was recorded originally in 2012. The Errands EP was developed with current bassist Patrick Colman, keys player Jason Kane, and Isaac while they all lived together in Denver.
In 2017, while living on the Big Sur coast of California, Isaac met dear friend and future manager Michael Handy — CEO of Luvlab Collective, festival creator, and producer. With his encouragement, Isaac released the Errands EP and formed a powerful lineup of The Wakefuls to play a circuit of festival shows across the west coast. After that delicious stretch of performances, The Wakefuls hit the studio to record a follow up to Errands. . . which led to an unreleased record that no one has heard a note of. Then followed a long hiatus for both Isaac and The Wakefuls.
You could say that songwriting for Isaac has been a labor of a big life and a lot of love, and sometimes it has ended up in shambles. Such as life.
In November 2024, The Wakeful’s long time collaborator and friend Michael Handy passed away. This, along with a slew of other intense life transitions, raised an era of rebirth for Isaac and The Wakefuls. Now reunited with old and dear friends Patrick Coleman (bass), Jason Kane (keys), Tyler Kane (pedal steel, guitar), Matt Thompson (percussion), The Wakefuls have new life. Their July 2025 EP, Dancin in the Desert, marked a bold new chapter in their journey as a songwriting collective, and brought a spark of renewal to their live performances in Colorado & beyond.