Current Projects

Mark Schatz & Bryan McDowell
Grit & Polish

In January 2020, Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell started working up a duo show for festivals, small venues, and a Canadian fall tour. The time they spent together touring with the Claire Lynch Band had fostered a personal and musical rapport, which has made for a fruitful collaboration. Their show offers stylistically diverse material, ranging from traditional fiddle tunes and ballads, a Bob Dylan song, and a Louis Jordan boogie-woogie number to an Eastern European folk song on bowed bass and bluesy renderings on fretless banjo. Recorded in Mark's basement recording studio, most of the songs in this collection were recorded “live,” with very little overdubbing added. With such spontaneous performances, listeners will feel as if they're in the room with the musicians.

Mark is a prominent figure in the contemporary acoustic music world who has recorded and toured with Bela Fleck, Tony Rice, Tim O'Brien, Nickel Creek, John Hartford, The Claire Lynch Band, and Sarah Jarosz. Though best known for his work on acoustic bass, Mark has released two of his own solo recordings on Rounder Records which feature his original compositions and clawhammer banjo playing. He is the Musical Director for the acclaimed dance troupe Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, and is currently touring with Bryan McDowell and his own solo show, Mark Schatz – The Solo Concert. 

Western North Carolina native Bryan McDowell grew up in a rich musical environment where he learned everything from Doc Watson to Charlie Parker. His extraordinary facility on several instruments, his sure, sweet tenor voice, and his stylistic versatility have made him a much sought after sideman, landing him tours with the likes of Molly Tuttle, Mountain Heart, Sierra Hull, and a long stint with The Claire Lynch Band. Most recently Bryan has been focused on recording sessions, teaching, and studying for his BA. 

Their CD, Grit and Polish, which went to #1 on the Folks DJ Charts in 2021, presents a striking and colorful range of traditionally oriented music, both old and new, by two of the most versatile and respected players in today's American acoustic music scene. Schatz and McDowell bring their different generations and backgrounds together in an unparalleled synergy, humor, beauty, and ease, taking the listener on a delightful, toe tapping journey through a landscape of fiddle and banjo tunes, songs, lilting waltzes, and searing guitar solos. Stir in some clogging, hambone, and jaw harp, then sit back and enjoy an eclectic musical feast!

  • “Bryan and Mark kept me on the edge of my musical seat for years while we toured, and their magic is only enhanced by this new “pairing down”!  I’m filled with joy and somewhat verklempt listening to these two multi-talented guys with lyrical sensitivity as rare as hen’s teeth.” — Claire Lynch

  • “I’m loving your new album and thanks! Bodacious banjo, jocular jaw harp, bad ass bass, Glorious guitar, fantastic fiddle and Magnificent mandolin!” — Tony Trischka

  • “A listener gets a sense quickly after a dose of Grit & Polish that this would be a great in-person experience, which was the original intention of the two players getting together . . . Needless to say, Grit & Polish is a treat to be savored!” —Bluegrass Unlimited

Mark Schatz
Different Hats

Mark Schatz is one of the pre-eminent bass players in the Americana music scene, having toured and recorded with the likes of Bela Fleck, Tim O’Brien, Nickel Creek, Claire Lynch, and Sarah Jarosz. He is also a master of the clawhammer banjo with two of his own solo projects on Rounder Records which feature his own compositions. He is a southern Appalachian flatfooter and a consummate performer who brings an infectious presence, humor, and life to any stage he steps onto. In 2020, for the first time, Mark will be combining all of these things that he loves to do in a solo show in which he dances, sings, plays, and tells colorful tales of his experiences on the road. It is a warm and kinetic presentation, not to be missed!

Mark Schatz the Dancer

Mark Schatz is one of the pre-eminent bass players in the American acoustic music scene who has two of his own solo projects on Rounder Records which feature his flawless clawhammer banjo playing and original compositions. He is also a spirited southern Appalachian flatfooter who discovered this style of percussive dance while working with the Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble in 1976. His dancing was featured by many of the bands he toured with over the years including Tim O’Brien and the O’Boys, Nickel Creek, and The Claire Lynch Band. Mark met the founding Director of Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, Eileen Carson, who later became his wife, in 1989. His association with this troupe informed and expanded his skills and appreciation for the joy and power of traditional percussive dance. His exuberant stepping is woven into his new solo show Mark Schatz – Different Hats! 

  • “If Vaudeville still existed, Mark would thrive in it. Song, dance, comedy - whatever was required, he could fill the need. Those who work with him know he’s incredibly flexible, generous, and hard working. This consummate sideman turns things inside out on his solo show, making his audience his collaborator.” — Tim O’Brien

  • “I fell in love with Mark’s bass playing on many a Tim O’Brien and Nickel Creek record. His clawhammer banjo playing on his own records was a huge part of why I decided to pick up the banjo in the first place. I’m so grateful to have shared the stage with Mark on a handful of my solo shows. His generosity of spirit is apparent in his musicianship, and while it’s always a treat to hear him collaborate with other artists, I can’t wait to hear him shine on his own!” — Sarah Jarosz

  • "The Solo Concert by Mark Schatz is an uplifting cornucopia of dance, music and songs flowing from one of Americana Music's most gentlemanly entertainers - full of heart and humor!" — Claire Lynch

Béla Fleck
My Bluegrass Heart

Mark met Bela in Boston in 1977, and the two have been friends and collaborators ever since. They toured together with Tasty Licks and Spectrum, Mark played on Bela’s highly influential and acclaimed acoustic projects Drive and The Bluegrass Sessions, and Bela produced Mark’s first solo CD, Brand New Old Tyme Way. Bela returned to his bluegrass roots with his most recent acoustic project, My Bluegrass Heart, which garnered a Grammy in 2022. Mark played on several cuts of this CD, and has been on almost all of the touring dates supporting the release including the Ryman Auditorium (filmed and aired on PBS) and Carnegie Hall.  

Also watch:

"Tennessee" with Billy Strings 1/8/2022 / Wheels Up (Live) / Another Day

Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble

My association with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble started in 1989 when I met their Founding Director, my late wife, Eileen Carson Schatz. I was already a pretty good freestyle clogger, but these folks were the gold standard, and they inspired growth in my style and steps. Before long I was experiencing the rush of learning and performing routines onstage including tap, African gumboot dance,  French Canadian, and of course, high powered clogging numbers. I continue to serve as their Musical Director. 

From Eileen I learned valuable lessons in stagecraft, presentation, performance values, and arts in education that I carried to many other endeavors that I pursued in my professional career. She saw where people had potential and she placed challenges before them to help them realize that. My journey with them has helped give me insight into the evolution of American music and dance, and in turn, it has helped me understand and value the many currents that have poured into me, making me the artist that I am today.

Footworks is available for theater shows, festival appearances, and Arts in Education programs. For more information contact them at www.footworks.org.