21 Facts About Mark Erelli

Mark Erelli's self-titled debut album was released in 1999, the same year that he won the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk Award.

Mark Erelli has worked as a side musician for singer songwriters Lori McKenna and Josh Ritter.

Mark Erelli has performed at various music festivals and shared the stage with John Hiatt, Dave Alvin, and Gillian Welch.

Mark Erelli's songs have been recorded by Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Antje Duvekot, and Red Molly.

Mark Erelli was born in Boston and grew up in the town of Reading, Massachusetts.

Mark Erelli performed in numerous high school musicals and founded the band, Freddie and Slip.

Mark Erelli was introduced to the music of Patty Larkin, Chris Smither, and other singer-songwriters by listening to the radio station WBOS.

Mark Erelli formed the Mark Erelli Band and in 1997 released the album Long Way From Heaven.

Mark Erelli was awarded the Iguana Music Fund Fellowship award from Cambridge's Club Passim and used the proceeds to build a home studio.

Mark Erelli attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine and in 1997 enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he obtained a master's degree in evolutionary biology in 1999.

Mark Erelli's self-titled debut CD was released on the Signature Sounds label in 1999.

Mark Erelli later won the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk Award in the same year.

Later that year Mark Erelli was nominated for two Boston Music Awards.

In 2004, Mark Erelli hooked up with Boston-based country band The Spurs to delve into the worlds of Western swing, country, and rockabilly with the release of Hillbilly Pilgrim.

Also in 2007, Mark Erelli toured with Lori McKenna in support of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their Soul 2 Soul tour which included appearances on Good Morning America and at the Grand Ole Opry.

Later that year Mark Erelli invited fans to finance his next studio album - Delivered - referring to the project as a barn raising.

In 2009, Mark Erelli was a member of Josh Ritter's band when Ritter opened shows for Ray Lamontagne in the United Kingdom.

On June 26,2014, Mark Erelli announced that the Kickstarter campaign had exceeded his initial $20,000 goal with donations received from more than 400 supporters of the project.

On January 4,2016, Mark Erelli announced a second Kickstarter campaign in support of For A Song - his first solo album of original material in six years.

One month later, Mark Erelli announced that the project was successfully funded, having raised more than $36K from 469 backers.

Mark Erelli was chosen to join seven other songwriters in a songwriting retreat called the Darwin Song Project, one of many events that took place in 2009 to commemorate Charles Darwin's bicentennial.