Bio

Mark Shipley leans into his folk rock and graying roots with a lyrical soul and gravelly voice. He often pokes fun at the universal, emotional, comical and uncomfortable realities we’re all too busy or afraid to discuss in polite company.

Mark finished writing his first song when he was 64, sitting in a rocking chair on a wrap around porch at the Jersey Shore, just a stone’s throw from The Stone Pony.

His songs reflect his roles as the child, friend, lover, husband, father, employee, entrepreneur, caregiver, and finally, the wisdom of someone much closer to the end than the beginning.

From where Mark sits, he only has so much time to say what’s weighing on his mind, so he better get a move on.

He finds his inspiration in the words and music of Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, Adam Duritz, Matt Berninger, Nicolas Carpenter, his brother Scott, son Jacob, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

And so it goes.