John Miguel Shakespear has performed all around the United States, sharing the stage with acts such as Henry Jamison, Lewis del Mar, and members of Broken Social Scene. In 2019, he released his debut record, Spend Your Youth, produced by Devon Dawson (Local Natives) with additional mixing from Greg Giorgio (The National, The Head and the Heart). American Songwriter described the record as "reminiscent of Fleet Foxes and Elliott Smith,” and WBUR called it "an antidote to a dire national mood." With a poet’s eye for detail and a persevering warmth that transcends national and political boundaries, his first release is a coming-of-age story tinged by the times.

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During a three-year stint in Nashville, John toured around the East Coast and Southeast, discovered the true meaning of a dang sandwich, and met core collaborators Rita Pfeiffer and Hannah Dorfman. Now back in his native New England, he has built a home studio and taken a turn in the (co)producer's chair, teaming up with Dawson and his longtime rhythm section, Alex LaRue (bass) and Greg Hum (drums), to co-produce his second record. This record represents a departure, musically and lyrically. Awash in warm synths and strings, it tells a story, start to finish. It is a love letter to the unsung corners of the Boston music scene, and to friendship. 

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A fiction writer by day, John's writing and interviews have been published  in The Believer, Cincinnati Review, Gulf Coast, SmokeLong Quarterly, Split Lip, Pidgeonholes, BULL, Boston Review, and elsewhere. He is the prose editor for Bull City Press's INCH microchapbook series.