Mark
McKechnie

The artist

Decades of songs.
A lifetime of stories.

Mark McKechnie was born into a musical family. He joined his church junior choir at the earliest opportunity — and by nineteen, choral music had taken him around the world.

From soloing in front of a sixty-voice choir on the steps of the Vatican to quiet private performances, he learned early what it means to hold a room with nothing but a song.

At sixteen, a friend showed him the chords to House of the Rising Sun and loaned him a guitar to learn on. He never looked back. What followed were decades of performing in every form — choral, vocal, community theatre including the premiere of Job's Blues, bands, duos, trios, and years hosting an open mic. He joined an established southwestern Ontario cover band, sharing lead vocal duties, adding harmonies and rhythm guitar to the mix, and stayed for nearly twenty years.

Setting down the band was the hardest call he ever made as a musician. The career asked for everything, and for nearly a decade, music waited. Coming back to it wasn't a decision so much as a recognition — that finding music again and finding himself again turned out to be the same thing.

The stage has always been part of who he is. He took the long way round to find it again.

The long way round has a sound — perhaps it will find a home with you too.

Based in Ottawa, Ontario. Available for restaurants, festivals, listening rooms, private events, and corporate events across Ontario and Canada.