Monthly Newsletter Digest
FEBRUARY 2026 NEWSLETTER
WHAT I LEARNED IN IRELAND
On last month’s tour of Ireland, my pal Dinty Child and I spent our single night off at a Wexford pub’s “ballad night.” We were welcomed into the band’s circle, taking turns leading and accompanying the group. After a few rounds, a hush fell over the room, the silence broken after awhile by a lone patron singing a cappella. One by one, the band fumbled for the key, joining in with instrumental support. Italian show tunes, Irish ballads, American country songs—it was all fair game, drawn from a deep well of traditions linked closely in form or spirit if you look back far enough. Everyone in the pub listened, offered a harmony, and celebrated the courage it took to raise one’s voice in song.
I was deeply moved by the spirit of those 40 or so people gathered in that Irish pub on a winter weeknight. It felt like a stark contrast to the bars back home, where five sports games blare from as many televisions, and cliques talk over one another in a steady din. We are so focused on individuality—on curating à la carte experiences tailored to our every preference. We routinely celebrate what we gain from personalization, but are less adept at reckoning with what is lost when we wall ourselves off, literally or digitally, from those around us.
While I was abroad, people in countless communities across the United States began standing up and making their voices heard. Some of us now join in solidarity; others simply carry on with their lives—or worse, actively choose to align themselves with organizations using state violence to silence dissent. In that Irish pub, I witnessed the beauty and power of making space for others’ voices and supporting their expression. To raise your voice is to embrace vulnerability, to state publicly and without fear what you love or believe in. This is the vow I’ve taken in my work. I believe wholeheartedly in the right of others to do the same, and I stand with them, in practice and in spirit.
Next month, I’m releasing my fourteenth record, Spring Green. Many will hear a collection of love songs celebrating faith, community, and openheartedness. To some ears, this album may sound decidedly apolitical. But I would argue that every song I write is a protest against complacency, my every act of creation resistance to entropy’s pull toward disorder.
I will not stop singing my heart, and I will not live in fear of raising my voice. And if you see me at a gig with a pint of Guinness (zero) in hand, know that I’m trying to reconnect with the indomitable spirit I witnessed in that humble Irish pub on a Tuesday night.
MY NEW ALBUM SPRING GREEN
My new album Spring Green will be released on Friday March 6th, available exclusively through Bandcamp for streaming or purchase for the first month. On April 3, it will be more widely available on streaming platforms. I am so proud of this record - it was #1 Most Added on Folk & Americana Radio last week! - and will be releasing another single in advance of its release next Wednesday, February 11. Keep an eye on my social media accounts if you want to hear “Kindhearted Woman” early next week! Dare I say, it makes for an excellent Valentines Day song.
PRE-ORDER the new record directly from Mark!
MP3 of the MONTH
What better way to celebrate my Ireland tour with Dinty Child this month than by sharing an unrecorded song of ours that we regularly play in our shows together? This song is called “Available Light,” and it’s actually the second song I’ve written with that title. The first version I wrote back during lockdown in 2020, but never really felt compelled to share. When I suggested to Dinty that we repurpose the title and write a new song together, version 2.0 fairly wrote itself. We took a verse from my original version and used it as the bridge here. It’s available for the month of February at my Bandcamp page. Enjoy!
SHOWS
Sub Rosa: Songs From Three Mile Island
Sun Feb 22/Mon Feb 23 - Passim, Cambridge MA - 7 pm
A pair of very special annual, collaborative performances highlighting songs written during my annual songwriting retreat on Lake Winnipesaukee. As usual, last year’s retreat produced another bumper crop of amazing songs that run the whole emotional spectrum, from drop-dead funny to intensely moving and everything in between. Most if not all of these songs have not yet been recorded, and this is often the first time they are performed publicly, and with an all-star cast including Dinty Child, Neil Cleary, Rose Cousins, Kris Delmhorst, Dave Godowsky, Zachariah Hickman, Jennifer Kimball, Annie Lynch, Rose Polenzani, Sean Staples, and Dietrich Strause. Heads up!…less than 20 tickets remain across both nights. If you can’t be in the room with us, livestream tickets are the next best thing. All proceeds go towards defraying the cost of this year’s upcoming retreat.
Feb 27 - Stone Mountain Arts Center, Brownfield ME (with Lori McKenna)
I’ll be playing a very special opening set at a benefit for Stone Mountain Arts Center the week before my album releases. Of course, I will also be joining Lori for her acoustic duo headlining set. This is one of the best venues we have, let’s show it some love and help it continue to thrive!
SPRING GREEN ALBUM RELEASE TOUR
Whether I’m traveling with a full band, or as a trio or duo, playing live for you is one of my greatest joys, and I hope to see you at a show in your neighborhood. If you have people in the towns I’ll be playing in, please send them our way. I am deeply grateful for your vote of confidence and word-of-mouth promotion.
Mar 15 - City Winery (Lounge), Nashville TN #
Mar 19 - Chatham Orpheum, Chatham MA ^
Mar 20 - The Spire, Plymouth MA ^
Mar 21 - Arrow Street Arts, Cambridge MA ^
Mar 26 - One Longfellow Square, Portland ME #
Mar 27 - Music Hall Lounge, Portsmouth NH #
Apr 16 - Stoltz Listening Room @ Avalon Theater, Easton MD %
Apr 17 - Concerts In The Studio, Freehold NJ ^
Apr 18 - Jalopy, Brooklyn NY ^
Apr 19 - The Kate, Old Saybrook CT ^
May 6 - The Ark, Ann Arbor MI %
May 7 - Cafe Carpe, Fort Atkinson WI %
May 8 - CSPS, Cedar Rapids %
May 9 - Molly’s House Concerts, Lincolnwood IL %
^ full band # trio % duo
2nd SHIFT MUSIC SERIES
SPRING SEASON STARTS THIS MONTH!
All shows for the Spring 2026 season of the 2nd Shift Music Series that I curate at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham MA are one sale! I only help present artists that I truly believe in, so trust me when I say you can attend any or all of these shows and you will not be disappointed.
FRI Feb 27 - Winterpills
Thu Mar 12 - Ward Hayden & Greg Hall
Thu Mar 26 - Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light
Thu Apr 9 - Willy Porter
Thu Apr 30 - Laurie MacAllister
THOUGHTS ON SPOTIFY
Spring Green will be released on Friday March 6th, available exclusively through Bandcamp for streaming or purchase on CD or LP for the first month. Though you’ll be able to enjoy Spring Green on most every digital service provider after April 3rd, it will not be available on Spotify. It’s not my intention to punish Spotify users, and I regret any inconvenience caused by my decision. I spoke a bit about the reasons for my decision here, and I invite you to watch the video and let me know what you think. As a truly independent artist, my top priority is my honest and longitudinal relationship with my audience. As the leading platform for streaming content, Spotify does everything in its power to undermine the very notion of music as something worth paying for or paying attention to. I am done with billionaires breaking things, trying to dictate how I create, and telling me my life’s work has no worth or currency. As both a musician and a music fan myself, my decision to indefinitely hold back my future work from Spotify is a small but meaningful personal stand that I feel compelled to make. If you are curious for more context on what led me to this decision, I suggest reading Liz Pelley’s excellent book Mood Machine.
SIDEMAN SECTION
No sideman gigs this month, but you never do know where I’ll pop up next.
A WORD ABOUT PATREON
JOIN OUR PATREON COMMUNITY!
I love streaming music, and stream much of the music I listen to. But streaming does not translate into support, if we define “support” as “generating enough income to keep the lights on and fund the creation of more new music.” This is not your fault, we are all victims of tech companies’ unsustainable (except for them) model.
The best way to sustainably support my creative output is by getting a subscription to my Patreon. As you're thinking about what you want to support in the coming year, I'd be honored if you made my music one of those things. For as little as $5/month ($60/year), you can help me do things like release new songs, make new albums, and tour consistently. In return, you get early access to all new music and much more. Thank you for your support!
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.
