BANNERS

Under the name BANNERS, velvety falsettoed Liverpool native Mike Nelson creates lush pop anthems that alternately brood and soar. After landing a major-label deal in 2015, he drove singles like “Start a Riot” and “Half Light” into the millions on streaming services while turning out a succession of EPs in advance of his 2019 debut Where the Shadow Ends. Nelson’s success continued in the next decade with the acoustic Always Yours EP.
Nelson grew up singing in the Liverpool Cathedral Choir and in performance halls throughout Europe before aspiring to create his own material. Briefly known as Raines, he settled on the moniker BANNERS for his official debut single, “Shine a Light.” The rumbling pop anthem highlighted Nelson’s brooding, Chris Martin-like delivery and was quickly licensed for a FIFA video game trailer in the summer of 2015. He signed with Island Records and made his U.S. debut with the ballad “Start a Riot” late in 2015. It tallied tens of millions of streams over the course of the year that followed. Both songs were featured on his five-track debut, BANNERS, released in January 2016, and the EP landed on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. The singles “Half Light” and “Into the Storm” followed in the spring and summer, respectively, and in late 2016 BANNERS released the love song “Holy Ground,” accompanied by a music video starring actress Ashley Greene (The Twilight Saga, Rogue). Following a 2017 U.S. tour with German duo Milky Chance, Nelson returned with the Empires on Fire, his second EP. Finally, in October 2019, he delivered his full-length debut, Where the Shadow Ends, and set out on a headlining tour of North America. One of the album’s singles, “Someone to You,” achieved viral success and went gold in Australia. BANNERS returned the following year with a third EP, Always Yours, which featured acoustic versions of several of his songs. 2021 brought a pair of vibrant singles in “If I Didn’t Have You” and “Serenade.” ~ Marcy Donelson