News & Updates
NOVEMBER 2024 NEWSLETTER
I BELIEVE IN LOVE
I believe in love
to be
the center of all things
-Paula Cole
Love is the only creative force. You can’t sing with hate in your heart. Hate burns too hot to shepherd the spirit through sustained adversity. Hate is immediate, explosive, a conflagration that consumes all available oxygen, snuffing itself out quickly. But love is patient and kind, and nourishes empathy and compassion—the most important tools in an artist’s kit. Hate can be contagious, but love is generative, love is iterative. Love is the only foundation strong enough to build upon.
Regardless of our personal beliefs, I am sure that by now we are all a bit sick of politics. The posturing, the jockeying, the threading of needles and squaring of circles—it’s exhausting (by design) and I don’t blame anyone for wanting to ignore it. It can be hard to keep the love front and center. As much as we might wish we could opt out of systems that drain us, political or otherwise, we have to persevere—because we are the systems. We create them, and we live them. While some may seek to convince us that we are victims and don't have any power, I feel it really is this simple: we create the world we wish to live in.
I don’t know what’s going to happen in the days, weeks, and months ahead. And I’m not going to tell you how to think or what to do. But I will be honest with you about my beliefs and actions. I believe the ideas and policies that seek to bring the highest degree of economical, emotional, and spiritual prosperity to the most numerous and diverse group of people are the ones that are right and just. So I’ll be voting for Kamala Harris—the only choice I see that even remotely fits these criteria—and I’ll also continue to write and sing whatever songs are inspired by this creed.
You do you, but I implore you to do it with your eyes wide open. Try not to get distracted or overwhelmed by the system. There is too much at risk to turn away and not participate. Get out there and vote, and know that none of us will end up with everything we want. But if we give in to apathy and despair, then we stand to lose pretty much everything.
NEW MUSIC COMING NOV 15!
Remind me when the single is released!
“Still Small Voice,” the next song in my new singles project, will be out November 15! For those of you who missed it, I released a new song called "Apocalyptic Love" a couple weeks ago, and will continue releasing new tracks over the coming months. Click the link above to be reminded when the next one is out! So excited to be able to share some more music to tide us all over til the next record. Because I love you and more music = more love. That’s just math.
MP3 of the MONTH
This month’s free song is a version of “Volunteers” that I recorded live at Ocean Way studios in Nashville back in 2007, before the song’s official release on my Delivered record. Fun fact: it was “produced” by the legendary Don Was (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, etc). I use quotation marks because I just played it exactly the way I always do, expecting him to want to add other overdubs and he was like “it’s perfect!” It’s available for free for the month of November on my Bandcamp page. Enjoy!
TOUR DATES
Sun Oct 27 - Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton MA - 7 pm
The Iron Horse was a deeply formative venue for me in my early years, too many amazing nights on its stage to recount here. My return to this stage will be a homecoming on so many levels. I cannot wait to share the occasion with you!
Chris Smither 80th Birthday Celebration
Sat Nov 9 - Passim, Cambridge MA - SOLD OUT
TrueSongs 2024: Lyrics of Life
Sat Nov 16 - Spa Little Theater, Saratoga Springs NY - 7 pm
TrueSongs is legendary folk club Caffe Lena's annual celebration of courage, resilience and caring. Seven local people who have faced a significant challenge have been paired with professional songwriters, including Ellis Paul, Joe Jencks, Hayley Reardon and yours truly. Each team will take the stage together to share, through words and music, a story of overcoming adversity. This is my first time being participating in this emotional and uplifting evening of true stories and the songs they've inspired. I can’t wait.
Supporting AMY HELM
Sun Nov 17 - The Kate, Old Saybrook CT - 7 pm
Fri Nov 22 - The Cut, Gloucester MA - 7:30 pm
Very excited to open a couple shows for an artist I love deeply, the wonderful Amy Helm. Have you heard Amy’s new record Silver City yet? What are you waiting for?!? She’s got the legacy of one America’s best rock n’ roll bands literally coursing through her, but more importantly she is simply one of the finest and bravest singers and writers working today. I love The Kate and am excited to return, and am excited to make my debut at The Cut, Cape Ann’s newest venue.
SIDEMAN SECTION
Nothing currently on the calendar, but you never do know where I’ll pop up next.
2ND SHIFT SERIES IN WALTHAM
Come on out to a show at the concert series I’ve been curating at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham MA for the past 6+ years!
Nov 7 - Christopher Paul Stelling
Nov 21 - Joy Clark
Dec 5 - Mike Block
PATREON
Join our Patreon community!
In addition to coming out to a show, etc, the best and most consistent way you can support me as an artist is to become a member of my Patreon community. It’s a very small monthly or annual charge—like a magazine subscription—but the economic security it contriv is vital.
This month, I’ll be sharing a record recommendation for Gillian Welch & David Rawlings’ Woodland album, the story behind “Wyoming Wind,” the only original song on the album of murder ballads I made with Jeffrey Foucault, and a brand new one-man band demo of a song I co-wrote with US Army veteran Jeremy Lyon called “Talking To A Hurricane.” The newsletter and all you get here is free, but the stuff I create for Patreon is not available anywhere else.
peace,
mark
Watch Mark’s performance from the 2019 Americanafest at the Ryman Auditorium!
You can check out a special episode of Austin City Limits featuring highlights from this year's Americanafest (like yours truly performing with Lori McKenna, Josh Ritter, J.S. Ondara & Shawn Colvin) on PBS starting this Saturday at 10 pm CT! Check out this teaser video & go to http://acltv.com/watch/tv-schedule/ & click on "check your local PBS listings" to find out exactly when it will air in your market.
