Mark Honestly has quickly become one of Guelph’s go-to musicians, known for his signature mix of folk, indie, and soulful vibes that just click with anyone who hears them. Whether he’s playing solo or jamming out with his band, Mark’s shows are full of energy, heart, and a whole lot of realness. Over the years, he’s become a familiar face at local venues, always bringing something fresh and exciting to the stage. It’s no wonder he’s earned a loyal following—his music has that perfect balance of chill and emotional, making him a staple on the Guelph music scene.
But it’s not just about the tunes—Mark has become a true part of the local music community, always showing up for fellow artists and collaborating with other musicians around the city. From small gigs to bigger festival stages, he’s all about supporting Guelph’s vibrant scene and keeping it buzzing. His genuine approach to both his music and the people around him has made him an integral part of what makes Guelph’s music culture so special.
When did you start making music, and how has your music evolved over the years?
My first guitar was passed down to me by my grandfather, who I never really got to meet. It was a Swedish-made Goya M-24 acoustic. I remember doing a school music project on Nirvana with my friend Connor in grade 7, and he was already learning how to play guitar. He convinced me to pull out my acoustic and play along with him to a super simplified version of Smells Like Teen Spirit for the class. I’m pretty sure we sucked, and I’m pretty sure we got an A. I almost immediately started writing my own riffs, and by about a year later I was burning CDs of my first original songs recorded to Sound Recorder on Windows XP and distributing them to some of my classmates.
I had a “power trio” in high school that would play school events (I had graduated to electric), but mostly just messed around in my time off making recordings of original songs. My access to recording technology at this point was still very limited, but I eventually graduated to a TASCAM digital 8-track machine that let me overdub multiple instruments onto one song. I was extremely influenced by Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Broken Social Scene, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Dinosaur Jr., but my life was changed by seeing My Bloody Valentine’s reunion show in Toronto, September 2008. The morning after was a school day; my first class was chemistry, and I remember sleeping in and missing it because the show went so late, and something about it just felt… right. So I did what any responsible person would do, and I dropped chemistry altogether the next day.
I moved to Toronto after high school and met a group of musicians from Guelph who were looking to start a new project. We eventually called ourselves The Folk, and we made 2 EPs followed by 2 full-length records. The Folk was my first real democratic musical environment, where everyone generally had a say in what happened. It’s also where I would experiment with co-songwriting for the first time. This led to some of the best music I will probably ever be involved in producing, but at the same time led to some of the most frustrating moments of my life. I sort of slowly gave up lead guitar during this time period to focus on a layered rhythmic “shoegazey” approach influenced heavily by MBV. In general, the band was musically all over the place; indie rock, classic rock, soul, and electronic music commingled. Our biggest criticism was that an album could sound like 5 different bands (I liked that problem).
Slowly that group frayed, and at the same time I got REALLY into the Grateful Dead (I know, big uh-oh moment), who were very much not on my radar my whole life. As The Folk broke up, I found myself reinvigorated towards the idea of improvised lead guitar and leaning into my own solo songwriting. I moved to Guelph finally in 2019 to start recording my own music earnestly for the first time. Since then I’ve released a few songs in a few different genres and put together the Mark Honestly Band with Liam Magahay, Dave Antonini, and Simon Thompson.
When did you start playing live music, and what’s your favourite part about playing gigs?
Elementary and high school coffeehouse-type events were my first public performances—solo on acoustic guitar. My real start playing out came after high school, with The Folk. We did the whole Toronto-based indie show thing in the first half of the 2010s. My favourite part of live shows truly depends on what I’m performing. In The Folk, we had some vocal harmonies that would just give me chills when we got them right. When I play solo, it’s about hitting the vibe just right and drawing an otherwise ambivalent audience into your isolated world, and when I play with the Mark Honestly Band, my favourite part is what new creation can come out of an improvised section of music and tricking the audience into thinking I know what I’m doing.
Give me your best live music blunder.
The most ridiculous thing to ever happen while playing a live show was probably with The Folk, when an amplifier overheated on stage within our first song and set itself on fire. The worst part was that we were borrowing it from another band, and they hadn’t even used it yet; the WEIRDEST part by far was that we were playing a song called “Fire in the Back Room,” so that was a bit spooky. I’ll be real though, blunders are sort of built into my sets nowadays; that’s part of what you sign up for when you like to improvise. At any point I may just go for something that doesn’t quite work out, but if you don’t try, you don’t know, and usually the payoff is worth it.
What’s your favourite venue to play in Guelph, and why?
I hate picking favourites, but the truth is the place I feel most at home in Guelph is the Jimmy Jazz. It’s where I’ve played the most in town and where I’ve seen the most shows. They don’t really have a good sound system or mics, their pay scale is archaic, and if you were a touring band going there not knowing the situation, I’d pray for you, but it’s where I’m most comfortable. Probably because they’ve also consistently had some of the best bar staff and people with great taste booking the shows. I also think that the eBar/ArtBar space on Quebec Street is a bit of a diamond in the rough that is waiting to be polished up. What the Guelph Arts Council tried to do with that space was admirable, but not setting it up with a permanent bar license was a poor move that made running most shows there cost prohibitive. That room has one of the best sound systems in the city, and it’s mostly sitting unused.
What local musicians couldn’t you live without?
A few local musicians were so impactful on my life that they made me want to move to Guelph: Liam Magahay, Sara Bortolon-Vettor, Bortolon-Vettor, and Emma Bortolon-Vettor. We were the core of The Folk, and we grew up together. I’m so proud of what Sara and Emma are accomplishing with Bonnie Trash now, and I’m so happy that I still get to play with Liam in my own projects. I’ve always found Liam to be a blessing as a collaborator; he just sort of “gets it,” which is such an intangible but invaluable trait for a band member. In terms of non-collaborators, though, I want to give Tyson Brinacombe a proper shout-out. Tyson genuinely inspires me; I think we both approach music similarly but also slightly differently. One of the main differences is that Tyson seems to be unable to stop producing, which I’m in awe of. There’s something about needing to nail the exact tone of an Instagram cover but then also making dissonant improvised music with your friends that really resonates with me. Check out Foods and Depression 500 for two different sides of a great musician. Also, can I just say that the song Crushing Mother Nature’s Son by Guelph goons Animal Boy may have singlehandedly kept me sane for about a week a year and a half ago?
Where can fans find your music?
You can listen to Mark. Honestly, wherever you stream music! In fact, if you can’t find me somewhere, let me know, and I’ll fix that. I’m releasing a brand new 3-song EP called Bawdy Parts on Monday, April 14th, 2025, so look out for that on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever. Our next live shows in Guelph are May 17th at the Woolly Pub, followed by June 28th at Jimmy Jazz.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2PEbo3hhntPs7vtPK7S3li?si=w7H3RbWqRRmKFps2SpUwGg
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mark-honestly/1679256857
I also play keyboards/synth and sing in a psych-prog band called Star Brides. We have a single on Bandcamp and are soon to release a bonkers 22-minute track steeped in weird time signatures and synths. You can catch us at The Albion on April 26th as part of Gain Fest. https://starbrides.bandcamp.com
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