Mark Croft + Eric Ryan Johnson
Doors 6:00PM / Show 7:00PM
$8 ADV / $10 DOS
This is a seated show.
Mark Croft is an award-winning singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist who has always been unafraid to break the genre barriers. Croft takes inspiration from a variety of musical styles and blends them into his own pop, roots & Americana based approach to songwriting, infusing soulful performances with infectious rhythms and unforgettable melodies. A seasoned performer, Croft has been serving up exciting and emotional shows to audiences for more than a decade. His booming baritone vocals, finely crafted songs, and ability to navigate his six-string with superiority, has garnered him praise as the a classic triple-threat.
Since turning his attention to music full-time in 2005, Mark has claimed 1st place in the Midwest Song Contest and the Inaugural American Idol Underground Rock Contest, and was designated “Favorite Singer/Songwriter” by Isthmus Magazine’s Reader’s Poll. He’s also garnered top-5 finishes in the Great Lakes Song Contest in 2011 and the Great American Songwriting Contest in 2012. A twelve-time Madison Area Music Award winner, he was again honored in the spring of 2010 with five awards for his EP The Possibility of Disaster (Slothtrop Records, 2009), taking home “Pop Album”, “Pop Song”, & “Pop Artist” of the year, as well as “Best Male Vocalist” & “Best Music Video”. Croft has shared the stage with a variety of well-known artists including Kelly Joe Phelps, John Eddie, Corey Smith, Noah Guthrie, and broadway & "Frozen" star, Idina Menzel. Croft’s tunes are being spun on the Clear Channel Radio Network, Pandora, college campuses, and Triple-A & non-comm. stations in the United States and Canada.
In November 2013, Croft released his first live album, Live at Shake Rag Alley. Recorded on July 20th, 2013 at the historic Shake Rag Alley Center the Arts in Mineral Point, WI, the album documents the performance of his acoustic quartet with band mates Robert Boyd (percussion), Dan Kennedy (Bass), and violinist extraordinaire, Jon Vriesacker. Live at Shake Rag Alley contains 14-tracks and could easily serve as a ‘best-of’ album for Mark, featuring live recordings of several of his most popular songs, including the first official recording of fan-favorite “Molly Brown,” and the new folk-pop single “Easy On Me.” Also included in the track list is the previously unrecorded, smoldering blues-lament “Picking It Up,” and Croft’s melancholy interpretation of the Springsteen hit, “Dancing in the Dark.” In June 2014, LIVE AT SHAKE RAG ALLEY was honored by The Madison Area Music Awards for Folk/Americana Album of the Year.
As someone who loves to perform live, Mark plays more than 120 live shows a year, and has taken the stage at a variety of prestigious venues across the country including festivals, theaters, and music clubs. Continuing to build on his professional music foundation as an exciting recording artist and gifted songwriter, Croft balances studio time with touring and performing live as a solo act, or with The Mark Croft Band.
Eric Ryan-Johnson is a guitarist and fiddler - originally from Madison, Wisconsin, living in Tulsa Oklahoma. His music is a mix of genres - from Americana, Alt-acoustic rock, and folk-pop - with hints of Irish and punk rock influences. In his college days in Madison, Eric performed with in his college band Drowning Fishes, and with the late great Marques Bovre. He’ll be performing his original songs - vocals and acoustic guitar - and maybe just a lil’ bit of fiddle. His music can be found on all streaming platforms.