Michael Lonstar fell in love with country music when he first heard Ernest Tubb singing "Walking The Floor Over You" on the Voice of America. He was 7 years young at the time and the time was mid-fifties Poland, devastated by World War II and ruled by Soviet - appointed communist regime.
He got his first failure note at school in... music class (!) not because he could not sing but because he was charged with his fondness of "imperialist" American music which has made him probably the first martyr of country music.
He learned English all by himself simply by listening to, and then singing along with Jim Reeves and Johnny Cash. His father would help him to write down and understand the lyrics. Both parents were high-cultured music lovers and in spite of poverty they bought him his first, cheap guitar which he mastered in just two weeks, when he was 13. Soon after he sang a couple of - how else? - country songs at the official school celebration which got him into trouble again because the kids wanted more of him rather than the officially accepted school choir and orchestra.
Ever since, through the high school and university he played in a variety of amateur rock'n'roll, blues and folk bands but he has always remained a cowboy at heart, faithful to his one and only love - country music and it was his solo acts - just his voice, an acoustic guitar and a handful of harmonicas - that gained him an early fame and drew attention to that young man in an ostentatious cowboy hat and with matching consistent attitude of an intelligent rebel balladeer.
In 1979 he put together the first real country band adequately named The Country Family. His impeccable English spoken with nasal "southern drawl" and his profound knowledge of American music made him an unrivalled interpreter of country standards. But he would never do a "cover version" repeated note-by-note after an original artist. His versions always bear his own brand.
Very soon, too, he began writing his own songs. To date he has written nearly 200, for himself and for other artists. His hit "Radio" holds the unchallenged title of Poland's Best Country Song of all the times and their album sold the then record-breaking 145.000 copies.
When the communist regime declared martial laws (1981-1983) thus devastating Polish culture, Michael Lonstar-after a year of playing clubs and disco venues in Scandinavia with a pop band, in April 1984 formed his own band. Barely two weeks later they won an all-Polish contests as The Best Polish Country Band and they appeared at the Euro Country Music Masters in Belgium. Their unconventional readings of "The Battle of New Orleans" and "Muleskinner Blues" defied the obligatory cover version formula and divided the festival's jury. Once again Michael Lonstar chose to be himself and not to take too many bows. Two decades later he's still the same ol' "renegade picker" he used to be back then.
Still under martial laws, in 1982, along with a small group of determined country fans he had put together the first, then half-legal, big concert called Country Picnic which subsequently evolved into the biggest country music event in this part of the globe, with 23 year old tradition and an impressive list of artists appearing there throughout those years: Carlene Carter, Shawn Camp, Billy Joe Shaver, Kathy Mattea, David Ball, Victoria Shaw, Bobby Bare, Mickey Newbury, Steve Wariner etc.
He was one of founding fathers of Country Music Association of Poland and its one-time president in the'90.
Michael Lonstar is the only Polish artist to date to have ever appeared onstage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nasville, in 1989 and again in 1990. That year he also sang at the Summer Lights Festival at the invitation from the Nashville Songwriters Association and hosted the New Country Seminar at the Lone Star Roadhouse in New York City, sharing stage with Kevin Welch and Mary-Chapin Carpenter.
He also appeared on the TNN cable television show "Nashville Now", along with Sawyer Brown, Bobby Vinton and Jeannie Pruett.
Befriended George Hamilton IV on the set of Polish TV special "The Blue Train", he made his guest appearances in his show at the Opry and he invited his son, George V to Poland which has brought about a whole series of the latter's concerts at Polish festivals.
National TV Channel 2 made a documentary titled "The Legend of a European Cowboy", presenting Michael Lonstar's multiple achievements as a singer, songwriter, poet, water-color painter and graphic designer, one time dancer and choreographer of country line dances, responsible for the "line dance fever" in Poland.
In 1996 he and his partner risked their personal savings to produce the big independent festival adequately called Country Top, the first and to date the only such event presenting all Polish country acts, with superstar Kris Kristofferson topping the bill.
On that occasion Michael Lonstar did an exclusive 60 minute TV interview with his guru Kris.
Michael Lonstar is also an em-cee at Poland's most prestigious annual film festival, Camerimage, where he co-hosts the opening gala and the award-granting ceremony, needless to say - always in his country outfit, which at one time provoked unexpected explosion of applause when the director Michael Cimino (of the "Deer Hunter" fame) announced by Michael Lonstar, approached him dressed in a cowboy hat, boots and fringed Indian jacket, too!
Michael Lonstar wrote, produced and co-starred in a country-styled mini-musical for children. He also wrote, produced and recorded a series of cassettes and CDs within the education-through-music project commissioned by Polish Academy of Sciences.
Michael Lonstar is the recipient of numerous awards in every conceivable category: Entertainer of The Year, Male Vocalist, Album, Vocal Collaboration, Event of The Year plus other cultural awards.
He has brought his musical and poetic vision to the USA, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Scandinavia, all Eastern European Countries. He performed twice at the gigantic country festival in Visagino (Lithuania). And of course he's present at every important event in Poland.
Michael Lonstar continues to make music his own way: straight from his heart, inspired by a down-to-earth reality, intelligent, rebellious, the music that makes the difference.
