Mark Newton

I'm fortunate to recover from two transplants and want to get back to performing. Hopefully my story will inspire transplant patients or individuals to know there's hope that if they keep a positive mental approach the human spirit can overcome anything. Music has been my life and now after 23 months of recovery my voice is strong, my stamina and energy is back. I'm very blessed to have a second chance in life. The Station Inn will be my first time on stage to perform for three hours.  Nashville has been my home for 22 years and I have the good fortune to be a part of this musical community that means a lot to me, but I've been very blessed that musical community has prayed and show their support in addition to national and international community.” ~ Mark Newton

Mark Newton, bluegrass singer, promoter, and booking agent, has reached another important milestone in his quest to recover from the effects of a serious hepatitis C infection. Following a successful liver transplant earlier this year, Mark was cleared to receive a kidney transplant as well, which was performed this week at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

Read the full article at Bluegrass Today

Read the full article here.

Excerpt:

"Mark Newton has been a presence in bluegrass music for most of his life, starting out playing with his father’s group in Fredericksburg, VA when he was 14 years old. His career took off quickly with stints in prominent touring groups Heights of Grass, Knoxville Grass, and Virginia Squires in the lates 1970s and ’80s. His recording of Painted Lady with Knoxville Grass in 1981 was a big hit in bluegrass, and remains a popular song at jam sessions to this day.

Along the way he worked beside some of the top pickers and singers of the time, including Sammy Shelor, Rickie and Ronnie Simpkins, Paul Brewster, and several others. Mark went on to record a number of projects as a solo artist, and took over the artistic management of the Graves Mountain Festival of Music near Culpepper, VA for many years. There he organized strong talent lineups as well as unique collaborations of artists that festival goers came to expect and look forward to each year.

But twenty years ago next month, his life changed dramatically when he received an unexpected diagnosis, and began a battle for his health that was only finalized when he received a liver transplant on February 26 at 1:00 a.m. The outcome was never certain, and when we spoke recently about his recovery, Mark made it quite clear that he had many years of wondering if relief would ever come. And he says that he stared death in the face several times."

Continue reading at BLUEGRASS TODAY