Mark Westin is a versatile and creative multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter who performs his original music in solo and band settings. He also records and tours with Norwegian power-pop icon Vibeke Saugestad.
Mark began his musical journey at the age of 12 when he picked up the five-string banjo. It was an unusual choice for a born-and-raised New York City boy, but Mark fell in love with bluegrass music and spent the next several years soaking up the songs of Flatt & Scruggs, Doc Watson, and many others. At 16 he performed with a traveling bluegrass and folk music ensemble where he also learned to play guitar and other instruments. At the same time, Mark was absorbing rockn'roll on FM radio alongside the variety of styles he heard floating around the melting pot of his hometown, including funk, blues and reggae. A chance encounter in his senior year of high school led to him picking up an electric guitar and joining a band.
For the next ten years, Mark recorded and performed with groups based in New York, Washington, DC and New England. He served as musical director for regional and summer theatrical productions and took his first serious steps into songwriting. Coming up in the folk music world, Mark was steeped in the belief that music is first and foremost an expression of soul. “I didn't ever think of music as a job. I wrote because I had to express myself creatively, and I loved connecting musically with other players."
Bad experiences with the business side of music led Mark to step away from the industry for several years and work a variety of jobs in other fields. However, he continued to write, perform, and record music, and gradually made the decision to return. When the pandemic limited his live performance opportunities, Mark dove fully into writing, creating nearly 50 songs in a two-year period. Ten of these became his 2023 album Tales, a collection of story songs fueled by the wisdom of experience.
Mark has performed and toured in the US, Canada, Europe and the UK. He's beloved by bikers and old ladies alike, and there's a small cult devoted to him on the Belgium-France border.
