Booking · press kit · festivals 2027
Book the Mark Lavengood Band
Dobro-led bluegrass and Americana out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Festivals through theaters and listening rooms — plus the John Prine tribute, MC and host work, workshops and sit-ins. Have steel, will travel.
Ten ways to put Mark on your bill
01
The Mark Lavengood Band
Festivals, theaters, listening rooms, breweries. The preferred ask — Mark with Loren Kranz, Dutcher Snedeker and Justin Avdek.
02
Prine Time
Ten years of the John Prine Tribute. A full band playing Prine's classics the way they were meant to be heard — loud, loose and all together.
03
MC & host
MC'd the inaugural Ionia Freak Fair — ran the mainstage for about 28,000 people.
04
Artist at large
Has sat in with Billy Strings, Lindsay Lou, Greensky Bluegrass, Amy Helm, Johnny Mullenax and plenty more. Plugs into any bill.
05
Solo & duo
Dobro, lap steel and songs — for listening rooms, openers, house concerts and side stages.
06
Festival workshops
Dobro and slide workshops for festival camps and instructional stages, from the teacher behind Music With Mark.
07
Sideman for the stars
Hired gun on dobro, lap and pedal steel, banjo, mandolin, guitars, upright and electric bass. Tours and one-off sit-ins.
08
Private events
Weddings, house concerts, corporate nights, backyard parties. Solo, duo or full band.
09
The Bear Den
Mark's own studio. Tracking, production and remote dobro or lap steel sessions.
10
Sync & licensing
A deep catalog of slide, roots and instrumental beds — clean stems, fast turnaround.
“A great songwriter and a master on the dobro.”— Billy Strings
Credits
Past Rockygrass Dobro Competition champion. Fifteen years on the road — regional to national to a few rooms an ocean away, with years in Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys folded in near the middle.
Has performed at
- Telluride Bluegrass Festival
- Stagecoach
- Celtic Connections (Glasgow)
- Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble (Woodstock)
- Smiling Acres Music Festival — co-founder & ambassador
- Inaugural Ionia Freak Fair — host, sat in with Billy Strings, ~28,000 people
Recorded with, toured with, sat in with
- Billy Strings
- Michael Cleveland
- Sierra Hull
- Greensky Bluegrass
- Kitchen Dwellers
- Amy Helm
- Anders Osborne
- Lindsay Lou
- The Infamous Stringdusters
- Johnny Mullenax
- Jon Stickley
Billy Strings plays on Mark's record No Part of Nothin', and Mark sits in with Billy often. The new album, Wake Up, features The Crane Wives and was co-produced with Joe Hettinga (The Olllam).
Watch & listen
The Wake Up official video, live clips on YouTube, and the catalog on Spotify and Bandcamp.
Press photos and a stage plot are available on request — ask in the work order.
Booking FAQ
What can I book Mark Lavengood for?
The full Mark Lavengood Band (the preferred ask), Prine Time — the John Prine tribute — a solo or duo set, MC and host duties, artist-at-large sit-ins, festival dobro workshops, private events, studio sessions at the Bear Den, and sync licensing.
Does the band travel outside Michigan?
Yes. Mark has played 480+ shows in 18 states since 2016, from Colorado and Texas to New York, plus Celtic Connections in Glasgow. He routes months out and builds runs around confirmed anchor dates, so send yours early.
How fast do you answer booking requests?
Inside two business days. Use the booking work order with the date, the room, the city and what the date can carry.
Who books the band?
Bear Mark Productions, Mark's own company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Every request through the work order lands directly with Mark.
What does the band sound like?
Bluegrass and Americana built around Mark's dobro — slide that cuts straight to the bone, songs about fear, grief and the patterns we keep walking back into, and a live show that runs loud, loose and all together.
Can Mark play just one part of our weekend?
Yes — host the mainstage, teach a workshop, sit in across the bill as artist-at-large, or close a night with the full band. He'll wear whichever hat the festival needs.