Wikipedia

Miko Marks

Miko Marks is an American Americana singer based in Oakland, California. Born in Flint, Michigan, she first gained attention in the 2000s with the albums Freeway Bound (2005) and It Feels Good (2007).[1] After stepping away from recording for more than a decade, she returned with Our Country (2021) and Feel Like Going Home (2022), the latter recorded with her band the Resurrectors.[2] Marks made her Grand Ole Opry debut on October 14, 2022.[3]

Miko Marks
Born
Miko Marks

Flint, Michigan
OriginFlint, Michigan
GenresAmericana
OccupationSinger songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, acoustic guitar
Years active2005–present
LabelsMirrome, Brown Bear, Aspirion
Website

Early life and education

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Marks was born in Flint, Michigan[4], and has family roots in Mississippi. She has said that church and school chorus were early musical influences, and that her grandmother's love of the Grand Ole Opry and Hee Haw helped inspire her interest in country music.[5] Marks attended Grambling State University in Louisiana from 1990 to 1994, where she studied political science with hopes of going to law school to become a criminal defense attorney, before later moving to the San Francisco Bay Area.[6]

Career

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Marks began her career in Nashville in the early 2000s and was named Best New Country Artist at the 2006 New Music Weekly Awards.[7] After stepping away from the mainstream country industry, she re-emerged in the 2020s within the Americana genre, earning new praise for her later work. Inspired by her mother who fought for equal rights, Miko Marks is known for helping challenge racial barriers in country music as a black female artist.[8] Her debut single, "Freeway Bound," in 2005. It was followed by her debut album, also titled Freeway Bound, which was released on September 13, 2005. Three further singles — "Kickin' Back," "Mama," and "Don't Come Cryin' to Me" — were released from the album in 2006. "Mama" featured Marks' first music video, which included a guest appearance by Erykah Badu assuming the title role.[9] Her second studio album, It Feels Good, followed in 2007 after the release of lead-off single "Locked and Loaded." Both albums were produced by Ron Cornelius and released under the Mirrome Records imprint.[10]

In a review of It Feels Good, Stewart Mason of AllMusic gave the album three-and-a-half stars, comparing Marks to the Dixie Chicks and Gretchen Wilson and writing that it "clicks on every level, making it a solidly enjoyable neo-traditionalist country listen."[11]

In 2021, Marks released “Our Country,” her first new album in over a decade.[12] The album's lead single and music video are "We Are Here".[13] In October 2022, Marks performed on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. According to CMT, her performance received two standing ovations.[14] In October of 2023, Marks collaborated with the Fisk Jubilee Singers for an updated version of her song "Jubilee".[15]

Life in music

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Marks' music incorporates elements of Americana, blues, Southern rock, and gospel.[16] After releasing her album It Feels Good in 2007, she stepped away from the music industry for more than a decade before returning in the 2020s with the Resurrectors.[17][8]

Family

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Her single mother and grandmother raised Miko Marks.[18] After college, she married David Hawkins, who currently works as a local firefighter in Oakland, California.[19] They have one son, Justin, who travels with her to CMA Fests each year.[20] 

Discography

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Studio albums

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Year Album details
2005 Freeway Bound
  • Release date: September 13, 2005
  • Label: Mirrome/Brown Bear
2007 It Feels Good
  • Release date: August 21, 2007
  • Label: Mirrome/Aspirion
2021 Our Country
  • Release date: March 26, 2021
  • Label: Redtone
2022 Feel Like Going Home[21]
  • Release date: October 14, 2022
  • Label: Redtone

Extended plays

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Year Album details
2021 Race Records
  • Release date: October 1, 2021
  • Label: Redtone

Singles

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Year Single Album
2005 "Freeway Bound" Freeway Bound
2006 "Kickin' Back"
"Mama"
"Don't Come Cryin' to Me"
2007 "Locked & Loaded" It Feels Good
2019 "Roll Out"[22]
2021 "We Are Here" Our Country
2022 "Feels Like Going Home"
"Trouble"[23]
2023 "Still Here" (with Rissi Palmer)[24]
"Jubilee" (with Fisk Jubilee Singers)[25]

Music videos

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Year Video Director
2006 "Mama"
2007 "Locked & Loaded" Edward Rosenblum[26]
2013 "Help"

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Result
2006 New Music Weekly Best New Country Artist[27] Won
The Independent Music Awards Country Album of the Year – Freeway Bound Won
2007 Independent Music Awards Country Song of the Year – "Freeway Bound" Won
2008 Independent Music Awards Country Album of the Year – "It Feels Good" Nominated
2008 Independent Music Awards Country Song of the Year- "It Feels Good" Won

References

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  1. ↑ "Miko Marks: A Country Music Dream, Resurrected". WMOT. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Review: Miko Marks draws on church roots and bridges genres". AP News. October 22, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  3. ↑ Opry. "Opry Goes Pink - Friday, October 14". www.opry.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2026. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  4. ↑ Opry. "Miko Marks | Opry". www.opry.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  5. ↑ "About". Miko Marks. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Miko Marks: A Country Music Dream, Resurrected". WMOT. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  7. ↑ Henderson, Shirley (June 2008). The Storyteller Miko Marks. p. 88. Retrieved June 5, 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  8. 1 2 "Miko Marks and the Resurrectors". Albino Skunk Music Festival. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Official Miko Marks Website - 2007 Country Album of the Year". Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Home". mirrome.com.
  11. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1112542
  12. ↑ Rodman, Sarah (February 17, 2021). "Black, Female and Carving Out Their Own Path in Country Music". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  13. ↑ "PREMIERE: Miko Marks Highlights the Struggles of Her Hometown in "We Are Here" Video". Archived from the original on April 9, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Dream Realized: Miko Marks Receives Two Standing Ovations at Grand Ole Opry Debut". Archived from the original on October 19, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Miko Marks releases 'Jubilee,' a rootsy collaboration with the Fisk Jubilee Singers". The Tennessean.
  16. ↑ https://www.opry.com/artists/miko-marks. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ "About-Miko Marks".
  18. ↑ "About". Miko Marks. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  19. ↑ "About".
  20. ↑ "About". Miko Marks. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Miko Marks' New Album 'Feel Like Going Home' Set for October 14". October 3, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Oakland's Rollerskating Country Singer". November 2019.
  23. ↑ "Bristol Rhythm & Roots: 6 Standout Sets from This Year's Festival". September 28, 2022.
  24. ↑ "First Listen: A music pioneer, Rissi Palmer is 'Still Here'". Soul Tracks. March 25, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Miko Marks Calls on Fisk Jubilee Singers for 'Jubilee'". American Songwriter. October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Music Video-rama".
  27. ↑ "New Music Weekly". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
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