"He truly has a gift for poetic lyrics...There's a glow of warm around him and richness to his supreme voice, sending shivers down spines as he pulls you into the soul of him."
- Hazel Buckley, TheMusic.com.au
Mark Wilkinson's lyrical depth and gift for melody have established him as one of Australia's most highly-regarded singer-songwriters. Coming off of his largest world tour yet, Wilkinson will release the second album in his Hand Picked acoustic series, Hand Picked Vol. 2, on December 18 (presale available November 5) to coincide with his annual end-of-year concerts in Sydney.
A celebrated independent artist, Wilkinson's second studio album, Let The River Run, was released on August 9, 2013, and within 24 hours the album hit #2 on the Australian iTunes singer-songwriter charts, surpassing artists like Grammy nominee Ed Sheeran and The Lumineers. As of November 2013, the album had reached #1 on iTunes singer-songwriter charts. Let the River Run also debuted at #2 on the AIR Charts and at #61 on the ARIA charts, while single 'Middle Ground' was featured in a Nescafé ad campaign in June 2013 went on to reach #2 on the Aussie iTunes singer-songwriter charts and #12 on the ARIA charts (singles). 'Middle Ground' was also featured on the first in Wilkinson's acoustic series Hand Picked (2012), which held strong in the iTunes Top 10 charts.
In October 2013, Wilkinson made his North American debut with tour dates in Los Angeles, New York, and Boston. His debut performance at CMJ Music Marathon in New York packed Rockwood Music Hall to rave reviews, as previewed in the Huffington Post. While in New York, Wilkinson visited SiriusXM studios where he recorded a live studio session, which aired across the U.S. and Canada alongside tracks from Let the River Run. After just two months of airplay, Wilkinson was named singer-songwriter "Discovery of the Year" alongside other "Best of 2013" breakout artists like Chvrches and Bastille.
Mark kicked off his debut tour in New Zealand in November 2013 and added end-of-year shows in Sydney to cap off 2013, which sold out in record time. His 2014 Australian tour was such a success that a follow up theatre tour was scheduled to meet demand.
While on tour in Europe later that year, Wilkinson was discovered in the Netherlands by Humberto Tan while busking to a large crowd that had assembled in Dam Square. Tan invited him to be a guest in his talk show, RTL Late Night, where Wilkinson performed at the end of the show. After the episode aired, Mark's name began trending on social media and his music starting charting in the Netherlands, a testament to his powerful live performance.
With buzz continuing to grow, Mark regularly sells out shows across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the U.S. He has opened arena and major theatre tours nationally for some of the world’s biggest names, including Brian Wilson, Chicago (band), America (band), and Seal (musician), among others, and he has opened for breakout artists like Noah Guthrie in the U.S. Wilkinson has also performed for VIPs at Kings of Leon and Santana concerts, represented Australia at the World Expo in China, and entertained deployed troops in the Solomon Islands.
For the latest information on album release dates and tour schedules, connect with Mark on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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