With three acclaimed CDs and a host of songwriting awards, Boston-based singer-songwriter Mark Stepakoff is widely regarded as one of the area's sharpest songwriting talents. The many awards bestowed upon him over the past few years include 1st Prize in both the Great American Song Contest and American Songwriter magazine's lyric contest; he is also a four-time finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition, was a semi-finalist in the folk/singer-songwriter category in this year's International Songwriting Competition, and received Honorable Mention in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest (folk category) and each of last two years in the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase. Mark's music has been played on nearly a hundred radio stations all across the U.S. and abroad.
Mark's debut album, Amateur Hour, was released in 2002 to strong reviews and hit the national folk airplay charts. Based on the strength of Amateur Hour and Mark's live performances, long-time Boston indi-music journal The Noise dubbed him "Boston's biggest songwriting secret" and selected him as one of the city's top 10 unknown or under-known acts.
The follow-up to Amateur Hour, There Goes The Neighborhood, was released in 2005 and hit number 21 on the national Folk-DJ radio airplay chart. Among the musicians backing Mark on the CD were guitar legend Duke Levine and acclaimed performers Mark Erelli and Jake Armerding. The CD generated enthusiastic reviews from numerous publications, including Performing Songwriter magazine, which called it "unbeatably original" and designated it one of its top 10 monthly DIY selections.
In the fall of 2009 Mark released his third album, Some Assembly Required, which features 11 new songs and backing from some of the finest musicians on the Boston scene, including Duke Levine, fiddle player Joyce Andersen, and Sean Staples and Paul Kochanski of the Resophonics. Like There Goes The Neighborhood, Some Assembly Required was co-produced by Mark with Tom Eaton (Vance Gilbert, Ellis Paul). The CD has garnered reviews comparing it to the work of artists such as John Prine and Steve Earle, and spent a total of four months on the national folk airplay charts. Six separate tracks from the CD have received songwriting awards from, respectively, the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, the USA Songwriting Competition, the International Songwriting Competition, the Great American Song Contest, American Songwriter magazine, the Dallas Songwriters Association, and the Great Lakes Songwriting Contest.
Mark performs frequently in the Boston area. He has headlined on several occasions at Cambridge's legendary Club Passim, and has also performed at (among many other venues) the Nameless Coffeehouse, Johnny D's, the Burren, the Abbey Lounge, Sally O'Brien's, the Amazing Things Arts Center, and the Center for Arts in Natick, where he hosts the weekly folk open mike. Mark has also appeared on WCVB/Channel 5's "Chronicle" program and New England Cable News' "Coffeehouse" program. Among the artists he has opened for are Bill Morrissey, Steve Forbert, Buskin & Batteau, Don White, Kevin So, Geoff Bartley, Claudia Schmidt, Susie Burke & David Surrette, and the James Montgomery Band.
Awards:
--American Songwriter Magazine: Seven time award winner, including 1st Prize, 2nd Prize, and "lyric spotlight" feature.
--USA Songwriting Competition: Four-time finalist. Played the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville in 2008 as part of USA Songwriting's winners and finalists showcase.
--Great American Song Contest: 1st Prize, top 5 winner, two-time Finalist, 3 Honors Awards. Named to contest's "Songwriters' Hall of Fame".
--International Songwriting Competition: Semi-Finalist (Folk/Singer-Songwriter Category)
--John Lennon Songwriting Contest: Honorable Mention (Folk Music category)
--Nashville Songwriters Association International Song Contest: Honorable Mention
--Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase: Two-time Honorable Mention
--Great Lakes Songwriting Contest: Finalist (8th Place); also Honorable Mention
---Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest: Honorable Mention (Folk Category)
---Tennessee Song Contest: Runner-Up
---Dallas Songwriters Association: 3rd Prize, Semi-Finalist (Folk/Americana category)
---Plowshares Songwriting Contest: Finalist
---WUMB's "To Kill A Mockingbird" songwriting contest (honoring songs inspired by the Harper Lee novel): 2nd Prize. Song included on WUMB-released CD compilation featuring Mockingbird inspired songs by artists including Brooks Williams, Kate Campbell, Chis Smither, Vance Gilbert, Erin McKeown and Pete Kennedy.
---Great Waters Folk Festival Songwriting Contest: Alternate finalist
---WMBR's Lost Highway's Song of the Week 10-18-08 (selected by listeners of the long-running roots music program)