After a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction, Mike Farris had a graveside revelation in the winter of 2004 — he was going to get clean, and quickly, with the aid of his family, his church, and his songwriting. He turned to the music of his roots (“When I was growing up, we had five records in my family . . . and three of them were by Johnny Cash. I didn’t realize how much that stuff was ingrained in my being.”) and infused it with the deep spirituality of Southern gospel. The result is a gem of an album called Salvation in Lights. Julia Clarke will tell you more.

 

 Mike Farris podcast [7:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (94)

Here’s Mike in his own words: