Raised in a family full of musicians, his mother and grandmother played piano, aunt played multiple instruments including guitar, steel guitar and banjo. He acquired a love for music at a very young age and began learning piano with his mother around 5 years old. Mark played in several talent shows at school and in the community. At age 8 he started taking violin lessons and played until age 16 in the Greenville County Youth Orchestra. With his high school sweetheart Lisa and 2 great children by his side, Mark decided to learn to play guitar at age 35. He started playing at local jam sessions and churches, ending up in an 8 year long praise band that evolved into a successful local band that lasted about 5 years.

Although Mike isn’t Full Time with Upstate Of Mind he brings a ton of energy to the stage that leaves you wanting more. With a long resume of musical endeavors, there is no doubt he is an incredibly talented guitar player and a great fit for Upstate Of Mind. He’s been a fixture on the music scenes in Columbia, Asheville and Raleigh among others, and managed to get highlighted by Guitar Player magazine in 2009.

You can catch him with us for many of our 2026 shows and the occasional fill-in in the future. He is a crucial piece to what makes Upstate Of Mind successful and he fits in seamlessly with the band.

After you leave our website please check out Mike’s Acoustic project – Quarter Moon Acoustic – You won’t want to miss his performances with Melanie Ward. What a Duo!

Ricky was born In Georgia and moved to South Carolina at an early age. He was encouraged by his parents to take music and his interest in the drums is where he turned his focus. Ricky played in the middle school and high school bands where he was the leader of the drum section. 

After High school Ricky focused on finding a career which took him down several Paths including being a firefighter with the local fire department. Finally Ricky joined the family business as the sales and service technician and now is the owner of the business. He has the support of his wife(Susan) 2 children and 3 grandchildren to continue his strong love of music. He loves the challenge of different genres from worship praise band, to a wide variety of music with the Upstate of Mind band, his second family. 

Fascinated by music from birth, at age 6 Patrick’s father gave him a stack of old, scratched up rock & roll singles from the ’50s, and a box of Big Band ’78s. Those, along with Motown, R&B, and Pop radio hits of the day, formed the musical foundation in his life. He started on trumpet at age 7, playing in school, but continued to hear the low-end prominently in every tune. Moving on from horns by high school, he started playing bass when his friends all decided to start a band. His ability to sing lead while holding down the groove, along with his love of all styles of music, led to work with many local musicians.

In the following years, he played countless gigs all over New England in popular groups, covering rock, reggae, latin, funk/R&B, blues, swing and pop. Moving from Maine in 2011 led to him putting all music endeavors on the shelf for several years. Now having settled in Greenville, SC, he’s happy to have found such a great group of people, and is excited to be performing with Upstate Of Mind!

Originally from Indiana, Andrea developed a love for singing and music at a young age. In grade school, she participated in multiple choirs where she learned the basics of how to sing, competing and medaling in both English & French vocal competitions. Although her musical resume did not grow after the grade school days, her voice grew and she has a powerful range that may surprise you. Andrea was influenced by popular artists in multiple genres, Country, Rock, Blues & Pop.

Upon moving to South Carolina in 2015 she was immediately introduced to the live music scene. She participated in “Rock Band Boot Camp” hosted by The Practice Pad in Greenville, SC for 3 years and met so many local musicians who encouraged her to pursue finding a band. After several years of searching, she was introduced to some great guys with a vision and soon they were calling themselves Upstate Of Mind.