Inspired by the musician Ben Folds, East taught himself piano and started writing music in high school.

[7][9] East began his musical career in 2009, self-releasing an album titled Closing Credits for a Fire under the name Mike Anderson.

[15][16] East's major label debut album, Delilah, was released by Low Country Sound, an imprint of Elektra in July 2015.

[17][18] It was produced by Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton)[19][20] and features a song by George Jackson recorded at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

On August 15, 2017, East released the first single from his upcoming album Encore,[22] "All On My Mind", which he subsequently performed on October 13, 2017 in an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.