Kelowna Talent - Mark Irving

Mark Irving, a captivating singer/songwriter moved to the Okanagan in August of 1990 from Edmonton Alberta. Mark spent a lot of time during his school years taking Royal Conservatory piano lessons through the Kelowna Community Music School. Having his first lesson at the age of 5 it soon became clear that Mark Irving was a natural born craftsman in musical arts. Adding the guitar to his workshop at the age of 12 he then quickly began writing, arranging and performing songs.

Mark began pursuing music seriously in 2005 after winning a city-wide songwriting competition, hosted by Escape Artist Music with more than 150 song entries where he received a recording package at a local studio and tracked his first demo. Spending the next 5 years writing and touring western Canada he has crafted a sound that has won the hearts of many. His most recent success was winning a cross Canada talent search hosted by GMA Canada 2010 in Calgary, AB.

Having been in the Okanagan for over 20 years Mark has fond memories of Kelowna. As a kid, he would often walk up the back of Knox Mountain to a point that overlooked the whole city to take in the view that now belongs to high end homes. He also remembers when the Marshall property extended up to Clifton road full of apple and pear orchards with run down pickers cabins and an old barn. When he wasn’t practicing piano or exploring mark was delivering 130 flyers 3 times a week or snowboarding at Big White. He spent his summers participating in “be a tourist in your own town”, frequenting “Old McDonald’s Farm” and “Flintstones”, both of which have been torn down and replaced with strip malls.

These days in the morning you may find Mark at the Mad Mango on Bernard, his favorite breakfast nook, and at lunch he may be hanging around the beach with a guitar if it’s nice outside. In the evening he might be playing at the Minstrel Café or enjoying a cold one with friends on the patio at Kelly O’Bryan’s. You just might find him on the top of a mountain somewhere drawing inspiration from the beautiful Okanagan valley. Mark's artistic influences range from Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams to Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Ron Sexsmith. His sound is compared to the aforementioned as well as Jason Mraz, Jeff Buckley Roy Orbison and James Taylor.

Mark Irving's debut EP entitled “Memories of Tomorrow” is set for release in spring 2011. Known for his honest vulnerability which is captured in raw vocal lyrical finesse and song writing genius, Mark Irving's indie folk-rock music and performances are crafted to a large demographic and is sure to leave you inspired.

Kelowna Talent
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