M J Hogan

Music was once a huge part of my life. I spent years writing songs, performing across the UK and Europe, sharing stages with artists I admired and building my confidence as a songwriter. Then life took me in different creative directions. Over the years I focused on theatre, storytelling and developing work rooted in lived experience — creating projects around care, family, working-class life and the voices that often go unheard. That journey eventually led to projects like Hidden Men, and reminded me how important honest storytelling really is. But in the background, the music never completely disappeared. Recently, after conversations at the Launchpad Conference and becoming a Launchpad artist, I started listening back to songs I recorded between 15 and 22 years ago. What surprised me was that they still felt alive. The emotions still connected. The stories still mattered. So instead of leaving them hidden away, I’ve decided it’s finally time to release them properly under the name M.J. Hogan. The first album is Calm After the Storm , which honestly feels like the perfect way to describe this point in my life creatively. This isn’t about chasing trends or pretending to be someone I’m not. It’s simply about rediscovering a part of myself and finally sharing songs that waited a long time to be heard. If people want to follow the journey, thank you. Genuinely.