Some Dreams Never Let Go

Queen City Rising is the solo project of Duluth, Minnesota-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Mike Paris.

Raised on Long Island, New York, Paris later spent years in Cincinnati, Ohio, the "Queen City" that inspired the project's name. Drawing from alternative rock, grunge, classic rock, and real-life experience, he writes, sings, and plays guitar on every song himself.

But Queen City Rising is about more than music.

It's about unfinished dreams.

At a time in life when many people are looking back, Paris is still looking ahead. After decades of work, family, responsibility, victories, setbacks, and everything in between, he decided it was finally time to chase the thing that never completely let go: making music.

The songs of Queen City Rising explore identity, politics, loss, resilience, second chances, and ordinary people trying to find their voice in a complicated world. They're influenced as much by life experience as they are by guitar-driven rock.

The next chapter arrives in January 2027 with the release of the EP: Your Friendly Neighborhood Black Man — a collection of songs about perseverance, perspective, identity, and what it means to keep moving forward when the road doesn't always lead where you expected.

As featured by Plastic Magazine (UK).

"Rock never died," Paris said. "It just got quiet. I'm here to turn it back up."