Local musician John Mark Nelson, who graduated from Minnetonka High School last spring, hopes to raise a total of $15,000 with his Kickstart project going towards funding his third album––his first studio album. The challenge: he still has $2,000 to go and three days to raise it.
“A lot of people are reaching out – people who want to see local music succeed,” Nelson said. With over $12,500 already raised to fund the new album, all John Mark Nelson needs is a small outpour of support to make the project a success.
“The first two albums were self recorded, self produced, self engineered, and self mixed––I did it all myself,” Nelson said. Since he started and began receiving more recognition, he’s met many people in the music business and put together a talented group of musicians to help with the new album.
“Now that I’ve assembled this awesome band, it seems pointless to do it myself when they’re all so talented,” Nelson said. “I want to give credit to all the hardworking people that will contribute to the album.” Nelson sees creating a studio album as a way to acknowledge all of those taking part in its creation as well as a key role in furthering his music career.
Trying to reach a greater audience, release shows, advertising, and selling merchandise are ways to get his name out when releasing new music. “One point of having a studio album is the marketing part of it,” Nelson said.
“It’s exciting to be 19 and doing what I love already,” Nelson said. With the help of fans and supporters, the Kickstart project will be completed and the costs of John Mark Nelson’s third album will be fully funded.
