Dream Freak-Folk
The Wakefuls create and perform introspective, poetic, playful, and wildly engaging original music, what founder and songwriter Isaac Mikael has coined as “Dream Freak-Folk”. The band is amid a fresh start in the foothills of Colorado after its epic origin in 2017 on the Big Sur coast of California. With a current lineup of old friends and collaborators, The Wakefuls are here to tap into the tender feeling tones of such bands from indie rock world that’s preceded them, drawing inspiration from such bands as Built To Spill, The New Pornographers, Slowdive, Wilco, Fleet Foxes, and The War On Drugs. This band is full of dynamic arrangements, driving and Dancy rhythms, and emotionally tender and thoughtful lyrics and vocals.
History of the band
Why Now? Wakefuls 2025
The Wakefuls was a project originally dreamed up by songwriter and troubadour Isaac Mikael to perform the music from the “Errands EP”, which was recorded originally in 2012 with songs developed with current bassist Patrick Colman and keys player Jason Kane while all living together in Denver. The EP was not released until 2017-- While living on the Big Sur coast of California, with encouragement from dear friend and future manager Michael Handy (CEO of Luvlab Productions, festival creator and producer), Isaac decided to finally release the Errands EP and form a band to play a circuit of festival shows across the west coast. After that delicious stretch of performances, that incarnation of the band decided to go into the Studio to record a follow up to Errands, which turned into an unreleased record that no one has heard a note of, and a long hiatus from recording performance for Isaac and that version of the project. 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, Isaac’s long time Wakefuls collaborator and dear friend Michael Handy passed away, amongst a slew of other intense life transitions, and raised a new and necessary era of rebirth for Isaac and The Wakefuls. Reunited with old and dear friends Patrick Coleman (bass) and Jason Kane (keys), Jason’s brother Tyler Kane (pedal steel, guitar) wonderful new friend Jo Fuller (vocals), and amazing drummer Matt Thompson, The Wakefuls have new life. The new EP “Dancing in the Desert” comes out July 12, 2025, keep an eye out for them playing around Colorado and breathing new life into this era of The Wakefuls.