About Jay Stielstra

Jay Stielstra wrote songs, plays, and poems that capture the natural beauty of Michigan for nearly 50 years. Among many accolades, Jay was awarded a Legislative Tribute from the State of Michigan in 2017 recognizing his lifetime of “artistic brilliance and unwavering dedication to protecting Michigan’s unique environment and natural resources for generations to come.”

In 2024, he received a posthumous Gubernatorial Tribute from the state “to honor his memory, noting "his life and legacy will be forever cherished in the hearts of all those that were touched by his kindness, inspired by his passion, and uplifted by his unwavering dedication to making a positive impact."

His songwriting has been compared to that of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and John Prine, but his sound is unmistakably his own. His lyrics and music are steeped in a childhood in Ludington, MI filled with gospel singing and close to his beloved Great Lakes and Northwoods. As an adult, he has sung on stages large and small, and in Irish pubs and small taverns like Andy’s Seney Bar in northern Michigan.

Jay writes of rivers and north woods, of love, of friendship, peace, war, and the passage of time in songs that have a rare simplicity and power. Jay’s songs are pure Americana, with melodies that are at once new and deeply familiar and lyrics that make you wish you had said it that way yourself.

Along with North Country Opera, Jay has written a number of musical plays, including Tittabawassee Jane, The Prodigals, and America-America, and his one-man show, Old Man In Love. He is also the author of the non-musical play, Better Way to Die. Over the past several decades Jay has performed his songs across Michigan and the Midwest with his own bands, duos & trios. His full length recordings include: Times That We Had (2002); Don’t Let Me Down Easy (2009); Michigan In Song (2013); and Heaven For Me (2017). Heaven For Me, a collection of selected scores and lyrics by Jay Stielstra was published in 2019. In 2022, Jay published the novel, Meet Me At The River.

To purchase Jay’s songbook, novel, CDs, or a DVD of North Country Opera: Recorded Live at the Ark, please visit jaystielstra.com.  All profits are donated to charity.