The mandolin isn’t just an accent in J Carmichael’s music — it’s the driving force behind his unique Americana-rock blend.

Influenced by improvisational bluegrass and jazz, Carmichael was drawn to the small stringed instrument from a young age. It gave him improvisational freedom while adding a melodic bluegrass touch that resonated with his musical taste. 

“For whatever reason, I’ve found the mandolin to be more intuitive than the six string guitar in my whole life,” Carmichael said. “I’ve got songs that I’ve written on the guitar and stuff that I’m always gonna play on the guitar, and I’m sure I’ll write more on the guitar at some other point in my life, but when I pick up the mandolin, I feel like I can go just about anywhere I want to with it.”

Carmichael studied the mandolin in college and has since branched out into other instruments in the mandolin family. Now well-versed in mandocellos, octave mandolins and alto mandolins—which add depth to the traditionally higher-pitched instrument—he refers to his style as “Americana and rock on giant mandolins on steroids.”

“These mandolins that I bought from this maker in Virginia, who makes five course instruments instead of just four course instruments, have this extra amount of depth that a lot more traditional mandolins don’t necessarily have,” Carmichael said. “The instruments help me as a singer songwriter because it lets me do mandolin stuff, but I have the depth and the range of the guitar.”

Unsurprisingly, mandolins are a cornerstone of Carmichael’s compositions and performances. 

An avid songwriter as well as a performer, he crafts ballads laced with defiance, often exploring themes of God, love, politics and the feeling of losing control. 

“If you’re an artist, maybe one day you’re writing about life and regular things that you see around you and things that are happening around you, and other times you’re writing about something that pisses you off,” Carmichael said. “Other times you’re writing about something that brings you great joy or is the key to salvation.

“It’s never any one thing,” he added. “I feel like it’s about all of life.”

Carmichael has released three full-length albums and several EPs. His latest project, “Blackbird,” marks the first chapter of a two-part album, “If It Hurts My Head If It Breaks My Heart.” His favorite track is the title song, “Blackbird,” which leans into his rock sound.

He plans to release the second half —”Missing the Mark,” a more acoustic, mandolin-heavy album, by the end of the year. 

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His songwriting process varies with each piece — sometimes the words flow easily, other times songs take months to complete.

“Sometimes I get an idea and I pour over it or get stuck on a verse and chorus with nowhere to go and then something happens — another thought, another life event, and then the rest of the song comes,” Carmichael said. “Other times a song comes to me like a gift that was sent in the mail. And sometimes I think a song wants to live one way and ends up changing entirely once I get it in front of an audience once or twice.”

On Tuesday, Carmichael will bring his rock-infused Americana to Steve’s Guitars for the first time.

“I’m a libertarian and so I have a tendency to write some songs here and there that might bother people on both sides of the aisle for different reasons,” Carmichael said. “One of the main goals of art is to cause people to pause and maybe reflect a little bit.

“I hope that at every show, there’s opportunities that people are like, huh, okay, I need to think on that a little bit, or what I like,” he added. “I hope to cause people to pause at some point.”