*Mark Lekas*

Music has always been a major part of my life - My biggest influences are my mom, dad, and brother who introduced me to music at an early age.  I began playing music when I got my first guitar at the age of 13.  Throughout high school I frequently would attend Grateful Dead and Phish concerts.  At these concerts I realized the magic of live performances.  It was the discovery of musician interactions with the audience at live shows that convinced me that music is what I want to do as a career.  At the age of 21, I was taking music classes in college and decided to expand my music background by learning to play the mandolin.  I took what I knew from the guitar and expanded it on to the mandolin.  For the last 6 years I have been seriously writing, creating, and performing original music.   I also play original acoustic music in the band WELL STRUNG with Tim Miller, Erik Lekas, and Shea Stone.