Michael Longoria Drums

Michael Longoria has spent most of his life behind the drums, and more than three decades making a living doing what he loves.

Born and raised on the Texas-Mexico border in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Michael’s musical roots began at home. His mother was a musician, music educator, and longtime band director in the Valley, and her influence helped shape both his love of music and the discipline behind it. Growing up surrounded by the sounds and cultures of La Frontera, he was exposed early to a rich mix of musical traditions, with rhythm becoming part of his language from an early age.  Michael began playing in bands as a teenager in McAllen, first with the punk rock band Disgust and later with the Dallas-based hardcore band Scum of the Earth. Those early experiences gave him his first taste of life as a working musician and began a lifelong exploration of rhythm across genres and musical traditions.

After moving to Austin in 1989, Michael continued to develop as a musician and began touring professionally with Texas legend Joe “King” Carrasco in 1994. From there, music became his life’s work.

By the late 1990s, Michael had become part of Austin’s emerging live hip-hop scene, performing with M.C. Overlord - the late Don Robinson - one of the pioneering voices of Austin hip-hop. During that time, he also played Hip Hop Humpday, the groundbreaking weekly Mercury residency that brought MCs, DJs, and live musicians together around freestyle, improvisation, and groove. At the same time, another side of his musical life was taking shape as he began playing regularly at Austin’s Elephant Room with Tomas Ramirez and others, marking the early years of a jazz journey that continues today.

Michael went on to spend several years playing and touring with Bob Schneider as part of Lonelyland, followed by touring with acclaimed singer-songwriter Kim Richey, and later touring and recording with Patty Griffin. Throughout those years, he continued pursuing and nurturing his own creative musical projects and bands which have remained central to his musical life.

A constant throughout Michael’s career has been an openness to crossing musical boundaries and creating something new. His playing moves fluidly through jazz, Latin and Afro-Caribbean music, hip-hop, R&B, neo-soul, world music, Americana, rock, and the spaces in between.

Over the course of his career, Michael has toured extensively throughout the United States and internationally, performing at venues and festivals around the world. His performance and recording credits span an extraordinary range of artists, including Patty Griffin, Bob Schneider, Kim Richey, Amos Lee, Joel Guzman, Stephen Bruton, Marc Ribot, Mestrinho, Tita Lima, Yaniel Matos, Tomas Ramirez, Pete Rodriguez, and many others. He has also shared stages with artists including Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Rickie Lee Jones, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Indigo Girls, Ryan Bingham, Eric Johnson, and others.

His work has also brought him to national television, with appearances on Austin City Limits, Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

Collaboration has always been at the heart of Michael’s music. Alongside his work as a drummer and percussionist, he has created and co-created musical projects that bring musicians, cultures, genres, and ideas together. He is the creator and executive producer of Universal Seedz, his concept for connecting artists through music while using that music to support community and positive change. He co-created Doppel with Jan Flemming and Muthabug with Noa Belillti, and continues to develop new musical projects. He remains deeply involved in Austin’s music community, performing and recording with many artists and bands including Atash, JaRon Marshall & The Collective, Adrian Quesada, Magna Carda, Michael Malone, and an ever-changing circle of artists and collaborators.

As a bandleader and collaborator, Michael brings together musicians from across genres and musical traditions, creating ensembles shaped by the chemistry of the players, musical conversation, and improvisation. For Michael, it has never been about staying within the boundaries of a particular genre. It’s about listening, connecting, finding the groove, and creating something with the musicians around him. Whether he’s behind a drum kit, surrounded by percussion, leading an ensemble, producing a collaborative project, or working in the studio, curiosity and connection continue to drive his music after more than 30 years.