Mark Lavengood Band Electronic Press Kit

Mark Lavengood is a walking, talking ray of sunshine. His resonant energy and sparkling smile light up every stage, every studio, every room, RV and embrace he enters. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Lavengood specializes in dobro and steel guitar, both of which he has played for over two decades, while also being well-versed in guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, drums and a variety of percussion instruments. In 2012, Mark was named winner of the acclaimed RockyGrass Dobro Competition hosted at Planet Bluegrass' headquarters in Lyons, CO.

Predominantly as a dobro player, Lavengood toured world-wide for seven years with the award-winning Michigan-now-Nashville-based Americana outfit Lindsay Lou (formerly, & the Flatbellys), and he has spent the years since becoming one of roots music's most called-upon sidemen. He has sat in and recorded with Billy Strings and Lindsay Lou, and shared stages with Amy Helm, the Infamous Stringdusters, Anders Osborne, the Kitchen Dwellers, Greensky Bluegrass, Trout Steak Revival, Johnny Irion, Gregory Stovetop and winter/sessions, among others. When a band needs a slide player who can learn the material on the drive in and make the room feel bigger, Mark's phone rings.

Both as a sideman and as frontman of his namesake band, Mark has performed at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, ROMP, Celtic Connections, Blissfest, Wheatland Music Festival, Cowpie Music Festival, the John Hartford Memorial Festival, Farmfest, Folk Alliance International, IBMA's World of Bluegrass, and Founders Brewing Company's signature events — Black Party, Harvest Party and Founders Fest — along with a long list of folk and roots festivals, and, closer to home, the Van Andel Arena stage alongside Billy Strings.

At each stop along the way, whether on tour, in the studio, or passing you on the street, Mark's positivity and genuine warmth is an immediate captivator. His selfless and gregarious nature has allowed him to collaborate, write and record with some hall-of-fame worthy talents. Cutting his teeth in the art and music meccas of Ann Arbor and Nashville, Lavengood returned home to West Michigan, where he built The Bear Den, a studio finished out of an outbuilding on his homestead. He produces his own music there and records and produces other artists under his own banner, Bear Mark Productions: tracking, production, remote dobro sessions, and custom songs and cues for film, television and advertising. Days in the studio, nights at a gig, and more often than not back in the studio after the show.

Mark fronts the Mark Lavengood Band — Mark on dobro and vocals, Dutcher Snedeker on keys, Justin Avdek on bass and Loren Kranz on drums. He co-founded the Smiling Acres Music Festival and now serves as its Ambassador, is Artist at Large for Festival, teaches dobro through musicwithmark.com, and a few times a year fronts a John Prine tribute that has held an audience for a decade. His catalog under his own name includes No Part of Nothin', We've Come Along, From Dust to Steel, Sam Stone and a 7-inch EP, alongside a steady run of singles. Wake Up, a two-volume record made at The Bear Den, arrives this fall.

Due to his lovable nature, boundless optimism, warm embrace and cavernous-yet-soft-and-delicate blue eyes, Mark garnered the nickname "Huggy Bear" early in his career, and upon meeting, one understands why. There's simply no denying that this is a very special soul.

“Mark Lavengood is truly a treasure in our lives and his music and positivity shine through the darkness like no other. A great songwriter and a master on the dobro, I am honored to call him my friend.”

— Billy Strings

“On “We’ve Come Along,” Mark shows his diversity as a musician and a dobro player. This record has it all. Bluegrass, jams, solo slide performances and more! It’s band centric but the standout slide playing and singing make this a must listen!”

— Andy Hall of the Infamous Stringdusters

“Mark Lavengood embodies the enthusiasm needed to take music and listener to new places.”

— Paul Hoffman of Greensky Bluegrass

“Mark is a compelling musician and entertainer. His playing is refined, full of personality, and extremely fun to listen to.”

— Jon Stickley, of the Jon Stickley Trio (Town Mountain, Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band)

“Lavengood has woven together a sound quilt of friendship and American Roots music that could have only happened in Michigan.”

— Seth Bernard, artist and activist

“Paying homage to tradition and blazing a trail all his own, Lavengood’s slide work is both playful and thoughtful. “We’ve Come Along” is an album of honest performances played and sung from the heart.”

— Mike Witcher, resonator guitarist (Peter Rowan, Jordan Tice, Missy Raines)

“Mark Lavengood’s undeniable passion for music is an incredible thing to behold. His superhuman drive is infectious and awe-inspiring. He is a pirate of love - a swashbuckling, slide-slinging, tide-turning old fashioned good time rambling man. He’s the last slick picker standing at the all night Jamboree and the first one up playing sweet gospel with the sun. Thanks, Mark.”

— Joshua Davis, singer/songwriter and band leader of Steppin' In It

“Mark Lavengood’s new album, “We’ve Come Along,” is a treasure of great tunes, great tones, killer picking, and good vibes. The real deal. [I] can’t stop listening to it!”

— Eric Skye

“Mark’s dynamism as a human and fierce musician shine through completely on We’ve Come Along”

— Christian Sedelmeyer of 10 String Symphony and the Jerry Douglas Band.

“There is a reason that Mark Lavengood is called “Huggy Bear”. We’ve Come Along is a nearly 40 minute embrace of musical love. From the originals to the covers, Mark invokes feelings of overflowing joy. One listen and you will be dancing up to the next person you see just to give them a big “Huggy Bear” hug! Get on board a go for the ride that is We’ve Come Along.!!”

— John Crissman, promoter of Cowpie Music Festival

“It’s like bourbon in your coffee cup, a soft sweet vibration that finds itself taller and taller, chasing round and round, track by track. Its been handed down, for generations, a simple pick on a porch, a I, IV, V everyone knows and vibrates in the deepest, rarest bone in us all. Well know it’s here, this round we’ve been waiting singing. What a swell deal you’ve arranged.”

— Benjamin Fidler, builder, poet, apiarist, of winter/sessions.

“It’s rare to see an artist become the personification of their art. But hearing Mark Lavengood’s leg kicking and mouth manipulating licks over the ferociously tight Bluegrass Bonanza! band brings out the same smiles he conjures with the hugs he delivers. His infectious laugh, absolute unpredictability, and yet steady love for those he encounters along the way is heard in each note and lyric. His newest album, We’ve Come Along, is a collage of where he has been and where he is going. The Lavengood ride continues to be worth each mile.”

— Matthew Sucaet, of winter/sessions

“Dobro player Mark Lavengood is taking the Midwest by storm! His ambition and ability to play a wide variety of styles well makes him one of my favorites!”

— Joe Wilson, of the Wilson Brothers, True Falsettos, and Steppin' In It

“I’ve watched Mark grow immensely as a musician and player over the years. The future of dobro and roots music in Michigan is in good hands.”

— Drew Howard, Lansing-based dobro/pedal steel guitarist, multi-instrumentalist

“Mark Lavengood is my favorite Midwest dobro player. He’s easy to work with from the first note and remains super tasteful to the last; super talented.”

— Ben Wright, of the Henhouse Prowlers

“Mark Lavengood has carved out a niche in the thriving Michigan music community as an in-demand string player.”

— Matt Jarrells, Program Director for 88.1 WYCE, Grand Rapids, MI

NO PART OF NOTHIN' REVIEWS

“I really enjoyed listening to Mark Lavengood’s new recording “No Part of Nothin’.” The recording held my interest from the first “Bluegrass Is” track, a sort of “bluegrass word jam” highlighted by some bluesy instrumental vamping, through the original and the traditional tunes and songs, to the final “Bluegrass Is” reprise track. Mark does a fine job of changing the mood (and the keys) throughout this musical voyage and his choice of instrumentation and voices make each track unique. He plays fast, he swings, he plays slow and pretty, he plays gritty – whatever the tune needs, he does. I was pleased to see that he included Bill Monroe tunes interspersed between his originals, seemingly making the point that the music can still grow with a traditional feel. The a capella “I Wanna Sing That Rock and Roll” track is a wonderful surprise, positioned just before the “Bluegrass Is” reprise. That final track is the perfect album closer, as it has a good bluegrassy feel and gives the listener the sense that this has indeed been a musical journey through the ever-expanding world and sound of bluegrass music.”

— Greg Cahill of the Special Consensus

“Mark Lavengood gets the Dobro. He gets it. He loves it, and it shows. “No Part Of Nothin” evokes a very new, yet familiar feeling in me. Imagine the creativity and sound of a 70‘s Tony Trischka, Tut Taylor, or John Hartford album, but with a modern sensibility. I love the natural feel and soulfulness of this record. Nothing pretentious. A real focus on the music. Not to take any focus off Mark’s real talent on the instrument, as this is also heavily featured. Super solid picking. You can tell he’s playing because he loves the sound, and that’s what makes me really enjoy this record. The Dobro has always been about creativity, and Mark’s wide open spirit shines through in No Part of Nothin’.”

— Andy Hall of the Infamous Stringdusters

LINKS TO REVIEWS

"Indie Spotlight" by Lee Zimmerman, Goldmine Magazine.

"Mark’s influences are obviously wide and the predominant feel is is of newgrass fused with world music, blues and country rock, with more than a smidgen of psychedelia" WCA Review by Eilís Boland at LonesomeHighway.com

"Just when I think... We've Come Along Review by Bob Everhart of National Traditional Music Association.

"Keeping in the bluegrass vein..." WCA Album Review by Stewart Fenwick of "Country, Music and Dance."

“It's brave" and "...a record which brilliantly picks at what Bluegrass can be,” says respected writer David Cowling in Americana UK WCA Album Review.

Allan Wilkinson from Northern Sky Magazine WCA Album Review.

Bluesandmoreagain's David Innes' "We've Come Along" Album Review.

"...he's a formidable musician, a top-class performer, especially on resonator guitar and Weissenborn lap steel."

Michigan Radio, "New songs from Michigan bluegrass musician show “there’s hope in the midst of every calamity”

Ricky Olmos from Local Spins, "Mark Lavengood: Blazing bluegrass, buckets of healing songs, a new album and lots of hugs"

Kelly McCartney from the Bluegrass Situation, "3X3: MARK LAVENGOOD ON RYE WHISKEY, ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND RUNNING SHOES"

Eric Mitts' from the Revue, "Grand Rapids bluegrass ambassador Mark Lavengood celebrates release of third LP, 'We’ve Come Along'"

John P. Bayerl of Semi-Bluegrass, "Bluegrass Past, Present and Future."

Mother Church Pew "Ol' Slew Foot" Video Premiere by Susan Hubbard

Ken Sears from If It's Too Loud, "Mark Lavengood Covers Bruce Springsteen"

Gabe Aikins from Under the Gun, "MARK LAVENGOOD SHARES INSIGHTS INTO BLUEGRASS AND TOURING"

John Sinkevics from Local Spins, "Reso-phonic bluegrass musician Mark Lavengood: The Local Spins Artist Spotlight "