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“Not only a gifted songwriter, but a stellar guitarist and vocalist as well.”
-SING OUT! Magazine
Mastering his craft on the stages of Memphis, Tennessee, Americana musician Mark Lemhouse has a seasoned quality to his performance that is as fascinating to watch as it is to hear. Accompanied with a voice that comes from every inch of his 6-3" frame, and a stage presence twice as big, his live performance is nothing less than astonishing when you realize all this is from just one person and a guitar and some fantastic tales occasionally told between songs as with the tradition of a Leo Kottke or Todd Snider. With a lifetime of experience and a style strained through a Hank Williams Sr. meets Tom Waits filter, Mark Lemhouse has set himself apart from the traditionalists and become known as a top-shelf songwriter and performer.
FULL BIO
Mark Lemhouse is a critically acclaimed Americana songwriter/guitarist who began his professional career in Memphis, Tennessee when he released his first album, Big Lonesome Radio in 2004 on Yellow Dog Records. This album put Lemhouse on the map with two Blues Music Award nominations for Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Since then, Lemhouse’s genre defying work has been used in the Oscar Winning film, Hustle and Flow and caught the attention of alt-rock legend Black Francis of The Pixies, who asked Lemhouse to serve as producer on Francis’s solo album Bluefinger released in 2007.
Steeped in pre-war blues legends, Lemhouse has a visual quality to his guitar playing that is as fascinating to watch as it is to hear it being played. Accompanied with a voice that comes from every inch of his 6 foot 3 inch frame, and a personality twice as big, his live performance is nothing less than astonishing when you realize all this is from just one person and a guitar. With a songwriting style strained through a Hank Williams Sr. meets Tom Waits filter, he sets himself apart from the traditionalists and has become noticed as a top-shelf songwriter as well. Lemhouse has toured both the U.S. and Europe, sharing stages with an eclectic group of artists including Jimmie Vaughan, Black Francis, Gary Clark Jr, John Doe, Kelly Joe Phelps, and Lemhouse’s personal hero, Honeyboy Edwards.
The fall of 2022 will bring the release of Lemhouse’s third studio album, Better Days, produced by Jason Carter (Black Francis, John Fahey, Dangermouse, Pete Yorn, Dandy Warhols). The forthcoming album will once again display the genre-hopping songwriting and musicianship that Lemhouse has now become known for. The musical arc of the new album covers a range of topics from ghosts, unrequited love, death, cheating the devil, and strange tales told with characters only Mark Lemhouse can dream up and put to music. Music that is original, and at the same time, reaching back to his Memphis roots where he learned to move a crowd with a unique story and the ability to tear the house down with his guitar all at the same time. Better Days will be released on Wavelength Multimedia in Limited Edition 180 gram colored vinyl as well as all formats in that same year. Lemhouse’s music can be heard on Apple Music, Pandora Spotify, Deezer, and IHeart Radio – Enjoy.
PRESS QUOTES
“His musicianship is wide-ranging and if there was any justice in the music world, Mark Lemhouse would be a star along the lines of R.L. Burnside or a Dwight Yoakam.”
- Pop Matters Magazine
“Lemhouse’s songwriting is direct, unpretentious, yet full of poetic detail.”
- American Songwriter Magazine
“Lemhouse brings new hope to the future of his genre.” - Blues Revue Magazine
“Whereas Kelly Joe Phelps, another Portlander who broke from the blues pack, has found a sweetly melancholy ache and resonance with his blues, Lemhouse has found the hellfire.”
- The Oregonian
“Lemhouse also evokes the spirit of Howlin’ Wolf by taking those simplest rhythms and energetically hammering on them until the listener sways in a trance. This act should be welcome on any bandstand.” - Blues Bytes
"He, at times resembles a coherent Bob Dylan and a lucid Tom Waits at others. His musicianship is indisputable.” - Smokey Mountain News
“This is good American music, pulling on blues, pulling on gothic country, pulling on your sleeve just a little, too.”
-Freight Train Boogie Review
“Sometimes you hear something that just can’t be pigeon holed into a musical genre and thank goodness for that. Mark Lemhouse has blues running through his veins but he clearly channels a world of musical influence.”
-Exclaim Magazine
Press Photos
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