MARK HUMMEL was born in New Haven, CT but moved to Los Angeles as a newborn. Hummel became interested in blues harp & rock-blues music in high school but soon discovered the originators like Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson & Little Walter. Soon after, Hummel frequented the Ash Grove club on Melrose Ave. in LA where he saw three blues legends he would later work with regularly; Charlie Musselwhite, Brownie McGhee (w/Sonny Terry) & James Cotton.

By 1985 Mark Hummel’s Blues Survivors hit the road full time & continue till the present (Hummel’s memoir, “Big Road Blues: 12 Bars on I-80” recounts many road exploits). Hummel’s been featured on over thirty recordings since 1985 including his 2014 Blind Pig Records, Remembering Little Walter (a recording of a Hummel Blues Harp Blowout.) The CD was nominated for a Grammy Award and won two Blues Music Awards. Hummel’s most recent release, Harpbreaker (September 2018/Electro-Fi), is an all-instrumental harmonica album that redefines the scope and beauty of what the instrument is capable of in the right hands.