ABOUT
Jay Stielstra has been writing songs, plays, and poems that capture the natural beauty of Michigan for nearly 50 years.
Among many accolades for his work, Jay was awarded a Special Tribute by 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.”
Songwriting
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. His 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.
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.
Lyrics and scores to select songs can be found in Heaven for Me, published in 2019.
Plays
In October 2022, Jay’s best known play, North Country Opera, celebrated its 40th anniversary with a sold-out tour of northern Michigan, with a finale at the Ark in Ann Arbor. A DVD of the performance at the Ark will be available in 2023.
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.
Prose and Poetry
Jay has written one novel, Meet Me at The River, and many poems, some of which are included in In Drought Time: Scenes from Rural and Small Town Life, 2005.