Peter Michael Norton
Singer/Songwriter/Player
Peter Michael Norton
Pursuing creative endeavors from a young age, Peter has years of experience in multiple disciplines. He has performed as a bass player, singer, guitarist, stand up comedian, and actor.
A Brief History…
Taking his lifelong love of music and the arts to a higher level, Peter joined The John Ballantyne Group and The Stumblers as a bass player in 2013. One year later, The JBG had released their first record, Edge of the Storm, and The Stumblers were regularly gigging. Both bands were running, and playing in, an open mic showcase at Liquid Blues in Woodstock, Il, for many years. The Stumblers would play hundreds of gigs and open mics over their run behind their beloved frontman, the legendary Bluesman “Admiral” J.W. “Legs Akimbo” Rice, until his retirement, after which the band dissolved. Later, The JBG would record their second album, Back to Nowhere. They would also gig fairly regularly throughout their near 14 year run. Ultimately, in early 2026, Peter decided to take a hiatus from The JBG to focus on his solo projects.
Around the same time that The JBG were making Back to Nowhere, Peter would meet the original, core members of Esculis. Officially joining them in 2019, the band would go on to release their first album, The Lines We Cross. Post release, the band would face a tumultuous number of years. Ultimately, in 2026, a newer lineup featuring Peter would release a re-recorded version of the band’s original album, this time titled, The Lines We Crossed. Peter departed from the band in late 2025 due to mutual creative differences.
In late 2019, Peter formed a new band, JoyDog, named after his beloved puggle. Featuring eccentric covers from a variety of eclectic artists, this band fast became a popular act. They played regular gigs throughout 2021, 2022, and 2023. The band would unfortunately dissolve after the departure of a key member in early 2024 as well as the unfortunate passing of Joy later that year.
In April of 2022, Peter released his first solo album, Mackerel Eyes. Writing all of the songs and lyrics, Peter assembled an all star cast of players to help him bring his vision to life. Spanning multiple genres, and featuring Peter in multiple roles, Mackerel Eyes became his most ambitious, and personal, release to date. A music video for “No Matter What” was filmed shorty after the album’s release and debuted later the same year.
Currently, Peter is working on an EP release, a full scale follow up album to Mackerel Eyes, and is forming a band to play his original material in a live setting.
