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Multi-award winning vocalist and guitarist Kevin Mark is quickly rising up through the blues ranks, making him a “must see performer”.
He has successfully forged his own personal style, taking inspiration from his many influences ranging from T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Albert King, Albert Collins and Luther Allison – to modern-day greats such as Junior Watson, Kid Ramos, James Harman, Lynwood Slim and John Németh.
Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Kevin’s musical journey began at 12 years of age when he received a tenor saxophone as a gift. He played sax throughout high school in the school’s jazz and concert bands until rock ‘n roll and blues took over and led him to play drums – and eventually bass guitar. As a bassist, he worked extensively in local bars and landed a tour of eastern Canada with an A-circuit cover band. After a decade of playing rock ‘n roll, he gravitated to playing blues – and ONLY blues.
By 1996, he was playing guitar and fronting his own blues band. In 2001, a 12-song demo entitled “Steak And Potatoes” was recorded, and the band took top spot in the Toronto Blues Society’s National Talent Search. Kevin and his musicians also took home the Maple Blues Award for Best New Artist later that same year.
Audiences and critics started taking note that Kevin Mark wasn’t merely a blues musician; He was a blues entertainer – capable of delivering solid performances night after night to crowds of any size. His performance to over 20,000 spectators at the prestigious Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2002 was proof that Kevin Mark had arrived and was the real deal. He’s since been invited back to the coveted festival on two other occasions.
In 2004, Kevin took the band to Toronto, Canada to record “Rolling The Dice” – his first full-length album. Produced by Juno Award-winning blues artist Jack de Keyzer and recorded by Alec Fraser at his famed Liquid Studios, “Rolling The Dice” featured 11 original songs out of the album’s 13 tracks, and was embraced by critics world-wide. The album landed the Lys Blues Award for "Album Of The Year" and sales hit the four corners of the globe.
2007 marked the release of “Cuttin’ Loose” – the highly anticipated follow-up to “Rolling The Dice”. Recorded at Kevin’s own Hideaway Studios in Montreal, Canada, “Cuttin’ Loose” showcases 14 tunes that take the listener on a ride from the West Coast out to Chicago – with a pit stop in New Orleans – all while maintaining Kevin’s unique sound and songwriting approach that has won this guitarist/vocalist/songwriter numerous blues awards and nominations (11 of the 14 tracks are brand new originals). To top it off, the CD was mixed out in California by West-Coast blues engineer Jerry Hall who has worked with Little Charlie & The Nightcats, James Harman, Junior Watson and Kid Ramos – to name but a few.
As with Kevin’s previous album, “Cuttin’ Loose” is receiving airplay and rave reviews internationally and was sitting at the Number 1 spot on the blues charts in France for the months of June AND July of 2007.
Kevin Mark is undeniably a rising blues star. His exceptional stage presence combined with swinging shuffle grooves influenced by the best blues and R&B artists of the ‘50s has earned him three consecutive titles for Live Act Of The Year at the Lys Blues Awards.
Kevin Mark is endorsed by Dean Markley Strings
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