John Mark Nelson's New Album I'M NOT AFRAID Out Today

John Mark Nelson's new album, I'm Not Afraid, is out today on GNDWIRE Records via Thirty Tigers (iTunes). In celebration of the release, Nelson will perform a special CD release show at Minneapolis' First Avenue tonight followed by a series of fall tour dates. Additional shows to be announced shortly.

Released to widespread acclaim, City Pages praises, "I'm Not Afraid is the best thing Nelson's ever put out. He's always delivered sophisticated lyrics and arrangements, but this time his writing joins taut cohesion and incredible production," while AllMusic asserts, "...a warm, easy listen that plays to Nelson's strengths as a writer of tight, effective songs that target the pleasure centers directly as opposed to any sort of delayed gratification."

Nelson is also currently featured as a "World Café Next" artist to watch and recently performed at new in-studio session at Minneapolis' The Current. Recorded at The Library Recording Studio in Minneapolis, the 10-track album was produced by Nelson along with Jacob Hanson.

Of his inspiration behind the album, Nelson comments, "When I sat down and started recording new sounds and ideas, something clicked inside me. While my previous material had been driven by emotive concepts and lyrical motifs, the new material seemed to be guided by rhythm, energy, and attention grabbing sounds. Song after song poured out, and flowed into one another in a cohesive way. Fueled by darker guitar tones, bold drum sounds, and faster tempos, I'm Not Afraid, feels like the first sentences of a new artistic chapter."

The record is the first release on GNDWIRE (pronounced "Ground Wire") Records, which was recently founded by Trampled By Turtles' Dave Simonett along with Mark Gehring.

Of Nelson, Simonett adds, "He is one of the most creative and musically motivated artists I've come across. This record is not only musically wonderful, but it is a front to back record in the classic sense. It exists as not a glued together package of songs, but as a single cohesive piece of art and that makes me very excited."

I'M NOT AFRAID TRACK LIST:

1. After All I've Done
2. Dream Last Night
3. I'll Give You More
4. Holes In Our Skin
5. I'm Not Afraid
6. A Hundred Orchards
7. Broken
8. Control
9. That's What You Do
10. I Won't Win (If I Let You In)

JOHN MARK NELSON CONFIRMED TOUR DATES:

September 11-Minneapolis, MN-First Avenue
September 17-Duluth, MN-Red Herring
September 18-Grand Marais, MN-Mountain Stage at North House Folk School
September 26-Eau Claire, WI-The Cabin at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

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