National Touring Songwriter & Artist Mark Aaron James Live on the River at Tiki Docks Port Orange

Raised in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Mark found himself an unlikely fit in Nashville’s songwriter scene—until he wasn’t. At Vanderbilt, he went from porch parties to “in the round” sessions with hitmakers, quickly learning that in Music City, you’d better write songs strong enough to keep people from heading to the bathroom. The lesson stuck: his songs have since been performed by everyone from Jimmy Buffett to the World Peace Choir.

His early albums earned him back-to-back wins as “Best Local Songwriter” and “Best Up-and-Coming Band” in The Nashville Scene reader’s poll, topping names like John Hiatt and Lucinda Williams. Radio airplay, CMJ chart success, and PBS appearances followed—but Mark eventually traded country’s backyard for New York’s stages. Since then, he’s headlined clubs from Rockwood to the Bitter End, earned UMO’s nod as one of the “Top 14 Singer-Songwriters in Greenwich Village,” and even landed a song placement in Lost.

The…