Rock/Review John Michael Hersey - Democracy

Singer/songwriter/actor John Michael Hersey has released twenty-one albums of his music, including the October 2025 album, Democracy, where he continues his fertile fusion of rock, pop, folk, blues, and country.

With “Democracy,” John Michael Hersey delivers one of his most ambitious and theatrically rich projects to date—a full-fledged rock musical set not on a grand stage, but inside a dimly lit American dive bar on the night of a pivotal election. It’s an album built on character, tension, and the messy, intimate collisions of everyday lives, transforming a single room into a microcosm of a nation in flux.

Hersey introduces a cast of five vividly drawn characters: an aging singer-songwriter reflecting on faded dreams, an out-of-work actress grasping for purpose, an artist battling her history with addiction, a factory worker facing the wreckage of layoffs, and a man freshly released from prison trying to reclaim his place in the world. Their voices intertwine as they watch the election results crawl across the bar’s enormous TV—each song revealing private fears, fragile hopes, and the unspoken stories simmering beneath their rugged exteriors.

Musically, “Democracy” blends Hersey’s classic rock instincts with theatrical storytelling, creating a score that feels both narrative-driven and emotionally direct. Gritty guitar riffs, reflective piano lines, and blues-tinged melodies mirror the bar’s worn-in atmosphere, while the lyrics dig into personal reckonings shaped by political and societal unrest. It’s dramatic without being melodramatic, grounded in human experience rather than grand speeches.

What makes “Democracy” so compelling is its empathy. Hersey doesn’t preach—he observes. Through these characters, he crafts a portrait of America not as an abstract idea, but as a collection of lives intersecting in one charged, unforgettable night.

A powerful, insightful, and deeply human rock musical, “Democracy” resonates long after the last vote is counted.