Ever since his debut at 24 years old, Mark Erelli has exhibited an uncommon musical maturity. In a few short years, he has six albums to his name, over 500 concerts under his belt, multiple awards, and growing notoriety as a stellar accompanist. Last year, Mark took a month off from his own hectic touring schedule and accepted an invitation to join Faith Hill and Tim McGraw\'s \"Soul 2 Soul\" tour as Warner Bros. Recording Artist Lori McKenna\'s sideman. Whether performing his own \"intimate masterpieces\" (The Boston Globe), or accompanying another artist, Mark Erelli has quietly built one of the most impressive and varied reputations in modern roots music.
This May, Mark will perform a handful of special preview shows for his forthcoming album, Delivered (Signature Sounds). Set for a late summer/early fall release, Delivered was produced by Josh Ritter’s bassist and multi-instrumentalist, Zack Hickman. Mark will be joined by Hickman and the other members of Josh Ritter’s band for these four preview events at The Living Room (New York, NY), The Iron Horse Music Hall (Northampton, MA), and Club Passim (two shows in Cambridge, MA). A limited number of Delivered will be on sale at these concerts and will not be available anywhere else before its release.
Mark was first discovered while still enrolled in graduate school, at an impromptu 3 am music conference showcase in a hotel room. In 1999, he both finished his studies and released his self-titled debut on Signature Sounds. Following his win of the prestigious Kerrville New Folk contest, his fledgling career was heralded as “the beginning of a promising new road” (Acoustic Guitar).
His second release, Compass & Companion (2001), featuring the title track duet with Kelly Willis, was widely lauded as an “expertly crafted, beautifully produced collection” (Washington Post). Mark embarked on a non-stop touring schedule, visiting prestigious venues and festivals nationwide, and sharing the stage with the likes of Dave Alvin, John Hiatt, Nanci Griffith and Gillian Welch. The album spent nine weeks in the Top Ten of the Americana charts, garnered two Boston Music Award nominations, and prompted the Boston Herald to announce “Mark Erelli has truly arrived.”
Just one year later, Mark followed with a celebration of his New England roots on the stunningly ambitious The Memorial Hall Recordings. The bold mix of originals, covers and new arrangements of traditional songs was declared “timeless and seamless perfection…chock full of those moments that you’ve just got to hear—over and over again” (Folkwax). After touring for over a year to support the album, Mark continued to stay busy. The making of the record was captured on film, and the ensuing documentary was broadcast on PBS stations nationwide.
In 2004, Mark teamed up with Boston country band The Spurs to record Hillbilly Pilgrim, an entire album of western swing originals. Much like Lyle Lovett, Mark immersed himself in vintage twang without abandoning his contemporary sensibility and the heartfelt, thoughtful lyrics more commonly associated with folk music. The result was some of the most enthusiastic response at radio and press in his career to date--\"Hillbilly Pilgrim does western swing proud, as it\'s brimming over with wry, heartfelt songcraft, invigorating tempos, and pedal-steel guitar dazzling as an Arizona sunset...Erelli has crafted a near-perfect album\" (Paste Magazine). By year’s end, Hillbilly Pilgrim was voted WUMB Folk Radio’s #2 album of 2004, and garnered two more Boston Music Award nominations. The album also spent 11 weeks on the Americana radio charts, and was the 17th most played record in that format for 2004.
On 2006’s Hope & Other Casualties, Mark raised the bar with an unapologetic and timeless collection of deeply personal and affecting songs the Boston Globe labeled “a sturdy, winsomealbum, fueled by politics and emotion...a compelling addition to this young tunesmith\'s already impressive catalog.” Recorded slowly during a year of rough-spun basement sessions with producer Lorne Entress (Erelli played eleven instruments, Entress seven) Hope has Erelli\'s fingerprints all over it. Effortlessly balancing songs of love and protest, resignation and redemption, Hope is a brave and searingly honest tour de force that “addresses tough issues withthe grit of John Hiatt and the melancholy beauty of Ron Sexsmith (Washington Post).\" Hope featured several songs co-written with folk-pop artist Catie Curtis. One such collaboration not included on Mark’s record, “People Look Around,” bested 15,000 entries to win the grand prize in the International Song Contest (judged by Tom Waits, among others).
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