Mark Newton

Bluegrass guitarist and mandolin player Mark Newton grew up in a household steeped in music, where his father handled mandolin, guitar, and fiddle while his mother excelled on piano. At fourteen he first performed alongside his father, an experience that quickly drew him into a string of ensembles throughout the 1970s and early 1980s such as Cabin Hill, the Knoxville Grass, and the regionally successful Heights of Grass. By the middle of the decade he had become a member of the forward-looking contemporary bluegrass outfit the Virginia Squires alongside future standouts Sammy Shelor and brothers Rickie and Ronnie Simpkins; the band’s recordings for Rebel earned widespread critical praise and positioned the group among the most inventive acts in the modern genre. In 1995 Newton teamed with banjo legend Bill Emerson, bassist Bob Goff, and mandolinist Emory Lester, touring throughout the decade under the name Emerson & Newton across the eastern United States. His debut solo project, Living a Dream, appeared in 1998 and placed him in the studio with several longtime influences, an experience that directly inspired the 2000 release Follow Me Back to the Fold, a collection honoring women in bluegrass. That album ranked among the year’s most prominent bluegrass recordings, collecting multiple International Bluegrass Music Association nominations and securing Recorded Event of the Year. Building on this momentum, Newton formed the Mark Newton Band, which included Mike Munford on banjo and Troy Engle on mandolin and fiddle, with bassist Goff contributing to the 2001 album Charlie Lawson’s Still.