Bio

Michael Greer O’Shea was born and raised in Mills River, NC, where he currently resides. In the 2020 election cycle he ran for Congress in the NC-11 district, becoming the first millennial to appear on the Democratic primary ballot for that office.

O’Shea has spent most of his career as a music producer, working with audio engineering clients from around the country, and currently plays drums in the local retro rock band Aunt Vicki and has a solo electronic rock project called Kinjac. He also works in the film industry and is currently a producer on a film project created by Emmy-nominated actor Scott Turner Schofield (known for consulting on the HBO show Euphoria and serving as an executive producer of a Blumhouse film alongside Kevin Bacon), the short film version of which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. O’Shea also has experience in the real estate world both as an investor and Realtor.

O’Shea’s parents were the minister and music director at the Unity of the Blue Ridge church in Mills River for over 30 years and his family has called these mountains home since before the Revolutionary War. He graduated from West Henderson High School and from The Honors College at Western Carolina University where he studied philosophy and English. O’Shea has traveled extensively and spent time living in Scotland, Sweden, Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles before returning home to Mills River, giving him a uniquely global perspective combined with deep roots in WNC.

When O’Shea ran for Congress his platform called for a return to what he called traditional Mountain Values–caring for our community, caring for our land, ensuring everyone gets a fair deal, and ensuring our personal freedoms. He believes in pragmatic policy solutions to modern problems and that political representatives should work for the working families of WNC, not the other way around.