Mark Mallman at the Raccoon Motel -- August 3 (photo by Wilson Webb).
Sunday, August 3, 6 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue, an acknowledgment that journalist Steve Marsh said "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive" in the city, Minnesota-based musician Mark Mallman headlines an August 3 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist currently touring in support of his 11th album, the June release Magic Time.
As stated in the artist's official biography, "For the first 20 years of the 21st century, the legendary Mark Mallman is seen as a kind of urban myth — known for musical feats that straddle the laws of what’s humanly possible to channeling stream-of-consciousness improvisations into finely crafted Glam and New Wave. Then, during the lockdown of 2020, Mallman reshaped himself as a storyteller for the world of TikTok. Today, he's well known as one of the most popular music historians in the vertical world. Millions of people have viewed his 1000+ videos [@markmallman].
"What Gen Z would soon discover is that Mallman’s deep career spans far beyond the edges of a cell phone. He’s written music for Rick and Morty, General Hospital, and The Morning Show. He scored the zombie web series Bite Me 2 with Dick Valentine of Electric Six, and he’s composed for major motion picture trailers. His explosive stage presence and nonstop musical output have earned him features in NME, Wired, Pitchfork, and NPR. He’s honored with a star on the Minneapolis-famous First Avenue nightclub, where he’s been repeatedly named one of the Midwest’s best live performers.
"In 1999, Mark Mallman performed Marathon, a 26-hour song with hundreds of pages of lyrics — later expanded to 52 hours in 2004 and 78 hours with 100 musicians in 2010, earning him a commemorative day from the City of St. Paul. In 2012, he completed Marathon IV: Road Rogue — an eight-day, 180-hour nonstop performance streamed live from a van crossing the U.S., using biometric gear to create music from his brainwaves during sleep and electronic instruments by day. It was the first-ever transcontinental mobile musical webcast.
"His albums have pulsed with joy, resilience, and radical hope. The Red Bedroom (2002) featured members of The Promise Ring and The Replacements. Invincible Criminal (2009) included collaborations with Craig Finn of The Hold Steady and Shannon Frid of Cloud Cult. Yet beneath the spectacle and audacity lies a thoughtful songwriter. Happiness (2021) served as a companion to his acclaimed 2019 memoir The Happiness Playlist, which chronicled his experiment to overcome panic attacks by listening only to uplifting songs for six months. That book — a love letter to Minneapolis and to rebuilding a life one song at a time — earned national acclaim for its honest look at music’s therapeutic power.
"In the 2015 book, Music Theory for Dummies, he explains how being a composer shouldn't stifle you, 'Theory is the tool to get you where you want to go. Just remember, you're the boss of your music.'"
Mark Mallman plays his Davenport engagement on August 3, admission to the 6 p.m. concert is $15.88, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
