Mark Shepherd
Mark Shepherd is a singer-songwriter from Cambridge with a strong, distinctive baritone and
a dark brand of folky, thought provoking acoustic rock/Americana that explores the stygian
side of life with a rough warmth sure to stay with you long after you finish listening.
His new single Would You Help Me does what it says on the tin: the song is about struggling
to cope mentally and a call for help.
Mark has featured on BBC Introducing and a host of blogs. Performances all over the UK
and USA have included The Cambridge Folk Festival, Cambridge Rock Festival, Camp
Bestival, London: 02 Academy Islington, Borderline, 229 the venue, The Islington, The Spice
of Life… New York: Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, Pianos, Arlene’s Grocery and
many more.
A musical omnivore, Mark grew up listening to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Jimi
Hendrix as well as Miles Davis and Kraftwerk, Devo and Gary Numan. School bands lead to
a recording deal with a label that went bust before the band’s music was released. Mark did
a physics degree and invented (what was it?), forming several companies and raising a
family, all the while playing in local blues/rock cover bands.
In 2017 Mark released his first solo album, “Bad Man”, and followed it up with a string of
releases: The Grand Scheme of Things EP (2019), and singles She Didn’t Answer (2019),
The Grand Scheme of Things (2019), Driving (2020), Devil in The Mirror (2021). The music
was enthusiastically received on BBC Introducing and BBC Cambridge who invited Mark for
sessions.
Pre-Covid, Mark made trips to the US twice a year. Radio Free Brooklyn embraced the
Englishman who performed a host of gigs in small venues from New York to Austin and the
Bay area, drawing favourable comparisons to artists as different as Paul Weller, Garth
Brooks and Danny Vaughn.
“Awesome!” – Tom Simkin, BBC Introducing.
“Americana, as you’d expect, is pretty much the preserve of the Americans. Mark
Shepherd, a very clever Englishman indeed, provides a glorious, emotional and
insistent offering of the highest standard.” – Fireworks Magazine
