Written by Celine Louie
I met Michael Engberg by chance when he inadvertently treated my family to a solo guitar performance. While the impromptu show didn’t last as long as I would have liked, I’m grateful Michael decided to come try out the classical guitar we had listed for sale on Marketplace that Friday night. It didn’t take long to realise that, with the upcoming music edition of Alive magazine, this new acquaintance had a story that truly needed to be told.
At a sprightly 66, Michael has spent his entire life entwined in every aspect of music, and despite the years creeping up, retirement is far from his plans. In fact, it’s clear that his impressive list of musical achievements is only set to grow. Perhaps it’s his lifelong dedication to following his heart—something he continues to do every day—that keeps him so vibrant, both physically and mentally.
Michael’s love affair with music began at the age of eight. He vividly recalls learning piano alongside his brother, with lessons taught by Miss Harper in her living room, where they were often accompanied by her friendly but rather smelly old dog. When his brother lost interest, Michael decided to try the guitar. However, this passion was short-lived at first. “I started taking lessons from my older cousin, but for a couple of weeks, I got distracted, and the guitar ended up under the bed.
When I went looking for it, Mum said, ‘Well, you weren’t playing it, so I took it back,’” Michael recalls with a chuckle.
He jokes about whether his mum favoured his brother, adding, “When my brother wanted to get back into music, she bought him an acoustic guitar, then an electric guitar and an amplifier, and even a drum kit. But when I showed interest in the drums, I came home one day to a pair of drumsticks on the table. Mum told me I could practice on the phonebook. That’s when I said, ‘I want to learn the trumpet—at least I’ll get an actual instrument!’” Michael laughs.
By the time he was 12, his brother had fully given up on music. Determined, Michael seized the chance to finish the remaining guitar lessons. “My parents had already paid for another month of lessons, so I was like, ‘Me! Me! Me!’ Mum said as long as I practiced, she’d pay for lessons. So I never stopped practicing.”
To this day, whether he’s teaching, playing, writing, or recording music, Michael’s early experiences and unwavering determination have been the foundation of his lifelong musical journey. This passion has led him on a never-ending quest to fully immerse himself in all things music.
Currently, you can find Michael in various spots around Hervey Bay, most notably at his newly opened music school, Tin Can Music. There, he and three other equally captivating teachers spend their afternoons and evenings guiding students of all ages in mastering a wide variety of instruments.
When he’s not teaching at Tin Can Music, Michael splits his time between various musical endeavors. He spends several days a week teaching students at different schools, and when he’s not shaping the musicians of the future, you may also find him entertaining the elderly at local aged care facilities—a heartfelt service he has been involved in for many years.
“Years ago, my mother was in a nursing home in America. She had Parkinson’s. I used to return to my hometown to see her and play for her and the other residents during dinner hour. The staff told me, ‘Every time you come and play, the residents have better appetites, they’re quieter, and the meals are calmer. Everyone’s having a great time,’ so it just became a labor of love, so to speak.”
Encouraged by the positive response at his mother’s nursing home, Michael began performing at nursing homes near his home in Denver. He and his wife then sold their house, bought a 32-foot RV, and set off to tour the United States, with much of his income coming from performances at nursing homes.
“We loaded the dog, three cats, and a couple of guitars into the RV, and I actually started to get a lot of work. They wanted me for dementia wards because I have a pretty extensive repertoire. I never knew what would resonate, but I would play a certain song, and suddenly the patients would be right there with me,” he shares.
Michael made the move to Hervey Bay six years ago, and, as expected, he dove straight into the local music scene. Some of his first students were four-year-old twins Mia and Zoe, whose passion for music goes far beyond the ordinary. Michael proudly tells me about Mia, whom he now affectionately refers to as his “little protégé”—a kindred spirit connected in profound ways, despite their generational difference.
Michael’s warmth radiates as he shares their story of musical evolution. “Zoe and Mia started off on piano, and then Mia decided she wanted to learn guitar as well, so we added that in. Zoe quickly followed suit. At some point, Zoe expressed interest in learning the trumpet, and then Mia wanted to learn bass guitar. Soon, they both wanted to learn to sing!”
“Now 11 years old, Mia has her sights set on teaching, playing, and creating music. While she legally needs to be 14 to become a teacher, she’s preparing herself, and by the time she reaches that age, she’ll be ready to hit the ground running.”
“Music is the thing that helps her make sense of the world.”
If having a set of exceptionally musical twins in the family wasn’t enough, their mother, Janette Barnes—an ICU nurse—has an equally amazing story. After two years of watching her daughters learn to play music with Michael, Janette decided it was her turn to learn guitar. Fast forward a few years, and she has made incredible progress in the music realm—she now moonlights as Michael’s music partner in their duo “JaM” and is also a teacher at Tin Can Music.
“She’s very focused,” Michael tells me. “She has made the most beautiful progress. I have the greatest fun playing music with her because she’s a solid rhythm player, which allows me to do some of the fancier stuff. We sing together, and our voices have improved at blending harmoniously.”
Tin Can Music also boasts another incredible talent: 17-year-old Georgia Lawson, who has been playing music since the age of five. A multi-instrumentalist, she plays the clarinet, saxophone, violin, ukulele, guitar, and piano. If that isn’t impressive enough, she is also training as a boxer for the Australian title in the 57kg weight class, and for the 2028 Olympics.
With his ever-growing staff of talented musicians and the students who love coming to learn, Tin Can Music may be new in town, but it has already created a tight-knit community for those who want to fill their lives with music. Michael’s innate ability to understand the workings of the mind and the various teaching styles required for different learners is certainly one of his strengths. He explains that his self-confessed “weirdness”—now often identified as being on the autism spectrum—enables him to connect with students who don’t fit elsewhere.
“I grew up in Iowa, a semi-rural and very conservative state. When I was growing up, nobody ever mentioned autism. What I do remember is that from the time I was five years old, I was called weird. You know, I was the weird kid. These days, I believe weird is my superpower; it’s how we will change the world.”
… and Michael certainly seems to be doing his part in changing the world around him, one student and one performance at a time. In a world where we are often distracted by external noise, music offers a chance to reconnect with ourselves and our essence. It is a language unlike any other, connecting us and bringing us home.
No matter your age or ability, if you feel the urge to fulfill your dreams of learning an instrument, you can find out more about Tin Can Music at www.tincanmusic.com.au.