FOLK MEETS BLUES: THE SONGS & STORIES OF MARK HARRISON
- original songs for today in the spirit of the great troubadours
- · music and stories to make you smile, move and think
- · unique and acclaimed musicianship
Mark Harrison is an established, multi-award-nominated singer-songwriter, storyteller and guitarist with an ever-growing reputation for being unlike any other artist out there. He performs all-original songs in his own very individual folk roots and folk-rock style. He has been frequently featured on BBC Radio, including the Radio 2 Pick of the Week show and the Radio 2 Folk Show, and he has been live guest on Cerys Matthews’s Radio 2 show (she has been a big supporter). He has been described on the BBC as an artist who ‘makes you think afresh’ and by countless reviewers and audience members as ‘uplifting’ and ‘inspirational’. He has brought something genuinely new and distinctive to the folk music scene.
Mark is widely considered among the top guitarists on the scene, and he is a rarity in being a modern-day exponent of 12-string guitar fingerpicking. His very distinctive style evokes the spirit of the great folk blues troubadours like Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Davey Graham, Jones, Ralph McTell, Ry Cooder and Chris Smither.
Mark’s shows feature his memorable melodic songs with proper tunes, and thought-provoking and wry song introductions (which are not add-ons but are integral to the show and very much part of the songs and the audience experience). The songs cover a very wide range of topics of a kind that other people don’t write songs about. He sings and talks about the shared experiences, thoughts and concerns that many people have in their lives today, making audiences both laugh and think. Many of his songs tell a story, and some cover aspects of cultural and musical history in a fresh and original way. Mark’s songs talk to you, not at you, there is no lecturing or politics, but rather observations that many people relate to.
Mark tours extensively. He has done sold-out headline shows at the wonderful Minack Theatre in Cornwall and Celtic Connections, and played at numerous top festivals of many kinds, including Great British Folk Festival, Beardy Folk Festival, Wessex Folk Festival, Lakefest and Bearded Theory. Mark has released eight albums which have been unanimously acclaimed across a wide range of areas of the music world, receiving a very great deal of airplay and highly enthusiastic reviews in the UK, Europe and the US.
Mark gets a great reception wherever he goes, and audience members of all ages and backgrounds regularly come up to say how moving and emotional the experience was for them, as well as how much fun they had. Mark has been nominated multiple times in the Acoustic category of the UK Blues Awards (including 2025).
What people say:
· He takes very real things that happen in life and makes you think afresh about them (Paul Jones, BBC Radio 2)
· a bit different and kinda groovy too (Cerys Matthews, BBC Radio 2)
· a fantastic musician, he’s got a great voice and what a songwriter! What a glorious sound he makes (Frank Hennessey, BBC Radio)
· perhaps all you need is empathy for other people’s lives. Mark has that (Folking)
· fresh as morning sunshine and as sharp as a well-honed razor (Folkwords)
· charismatic live performances …. superb musicianship, melodic songs and humorous banter (RnR magazine)
· offers up a mirror to our troubles and challenges, and, while he might not be able to solve them, he still makes us smile as we go through them. (FRUK Folk Radio UK)
· he creates a bond between singer and audience that is rare in this day and age (Music News)
· perceptive, empathic and often wry commentary … that makes you think again about the realities and tribulations of life (FATEA)
