Internationally Known Singer/Songwriter Mark McKinney Plays Blaine's Pub Saturday

Country music fans get ready. Singer/songwriter Mark McKinney is coming back to San Angelo this Saturday, June 18, and will take the Blaine's Pub stage at 10 p.m. In the summer of 2006, Mark released his first solo album, “Get It On” and hit the road touring full time. To say the least, it's been an amazing adventure for this proud Texan.

McKinney has played with some pretty big names, including Lyle Lovett, Charlie Daniels, Robert Earl Keen, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, and many more. However, he said, "Probably the most exciting one was Willie Nelson." McKinney remembered that was the first concert he had ever attended.

"Willie came to Big Spring when I was around 5 or 6 years old. and my parents had taken me to the show," he recalled. "Another memorable 'wild one' was when I got to play with Ted Nugent; that was definitely an interesting night. I actually got to hang out on his bus with him after the show. He's a 'wild man,' that's for sure."

McKinney grew up in Big Spring, but has been residing in Austin for the last 20 years. He said the band does play in the surrounding areas every couple of months, but most of their time is spent on the road.

"We mostly play in Texas and many of the southern states, but over the years, there have also been a few trips abroad. I've been to France, Canada, Germany and even Mexico. It's kind of crazy how many song strings, downloads and messages we get from people in other countries. The internet, in this day and age, is incredible as we are able to reach so many fans."

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McKinney added, "Back in 2008, while touring France, we played the Equiblues Festival in St. Agreve. Their CMA people gave us the 'Best Live Country Music Performance Award' for that year, which was really cool."  Previous winners of this award include Brad Paisley, Jamey Johnson, and Dierks Bentley.

"I've been making music for a long time and am working on a new album right now, my 5th," explained McKinney. "I kind of keep people guessing, and am all over the place with my writing. There will be a mixture of slower songs, some traditional country, to rockin' ballads. My writing reflects that I'm a pretty optimistic guy; I think it's my best album I've ever written and am excited for people to hear it. I think we're gonna call it 'World in Between.'"

One of the songs from the album, "Sunshine," has over 13,000 views on YouTube, and several months ago, it already went to number one on the Texas charts. McKinney added that his duet with Bri Bagwell, "Why Haven't You Left Yet?" (a playful, light-hearted take on good love gone wrong) went out to radio a few weeks ago, and was just posted on YouTube last Thursday.

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Similar to all his other releases, McKinney said, "We'll be doing a bunch of PR for [the album], and there will be different formats where people can pre-order it. And of course it'll be available on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, and Apple Music. We're thinking early September will be the release date but it's not nailed down just yet."

Looking forward to Saturday, McKinney stated, "Although it's (Blaine's) a smaller place, it's always packed. I love San Angelo, and it's one of our favorite places to play. We usually try to come through every 5 or 6 months. I have a lot of really close friends there, and every time I come out, it actually feels like home. I can't wait to see them all, as they always show me a good time!"

With that being said, tell your friends and family; support local live music; don't forget to visit McKinney's merch table; and be sure to thank the staff at Blaine's for bringing up and coming Country Music legends to San Angelo.

For more information, check out McKinney's Facebook page, Twitter, and www.MarkMcKinney.com. For a list of upcoming events at Blaine's Pub, check them out on Facebook, or visit http://blainespub.com.