Miko Marks Releases Single 'Water To Wine' Featuring Melissa Carper

Miko Marks has released a reimagined version of “Water To Wine,” featuring Melissa Carper. “Miko Marks' ‘Water to Wine' was already one of our absolute favourites off her 2021 album Our Country, and now she's gone and covered it in lashings of whipped cream and stuck a cherry on top by adding Melissa Carper to a completely reimagined version of it,” said Holler in their premiere. “Like a giant helping of hope and a much needed light in the darkness, Miko Marks and Melissa Carper sprinkle a little fairydust on their blues with a song that's guaranteed to put a big unlikely smile on your face any time you need it in these troubled times.”

"Doing it with Melissa Carper has given it a whole new texture," Marks told Holler of the collaboration. "It blended us together in such a beautiful way - she took everyone back with her sound and her voice and I brought the gospel, church into the song. I'll sing any song with her, any day.” “Water To Wine (ft. Melissa Carper)” follows single “Jubilee,” which featured the GRAMMY Award-winning Fisk Jubilee Singers. Both will appear on a deluxe LP Marks will release in 2024.

Watch “Water to Wine (ft. Melissa Carper)” below or listen here!

Watch “Jubilee (ft. Fisk Jubilee Singers)” below or listen here!

After living what seems to be multiple lives over, Marks has finally come into the life she was born to live. Her life as a Black woman in country and roots music is only a small part of the story. She grew up traveling around in the family van to sing at various church conventions, but even with a show-stopping voice, it seemed singing was mostly just a hobby-not a career to pursue.   

After graduating from Grambling State University, she'd planned on becoming a criminal defense attorney, but her law degree was put on hold after she married young and gave birth to ar son. After some encouragement from her husband, she began to sing again and released two country albums–Freeway Bound in 2005 and It Feels Good in 2007. She received great critical praise and was a regular participant at CMA Fest in Nashville, but the growth was stymied by industry gatekeepers.  

After over a decade-long hiatus, with no grand vision of success, Marks recorded a few songs with bandmates Justin Phipps and Steve Wyreman, a collection of songs that became Our Country, released on Phipps' small non-profit record label, Redtone Records. An EP of covers called Race Records soon followed, which shined a light on the arbitrary divisions forced upon artists and audiences in the early days of music marketing in the 1940s.   

Her unique sound deftly blends Americana, blues, southern rock, and even gospel to create a sound and experience that has literally brought every audience to its feet. This new sound, along with her warm and soulful spirit, catapulted her into a community of change. Her latest LP, 2022's Feel Like Going Home, is an amalgamation of where Marks has been and where she is going, what she has learned, and what she wants to teach. It's an innermost look at the ebb and flow of her past, present, and future - the stories she wants to tell but hasn't been able to speak into existence ever before. The messages are profound: healing, restoration, and distinctly individual.   Marks will finish out 2023 on tour with Little Feat, is set to perform at the Black Women's Roots Festival in Berkeley, CA on December 10th, will kick off the 43-date Trailblazing Women Of Country Tour on February 27th, and is set to perform at the Stagecoach Festival in April 2024. Be sure to follow Miko Marks at the links below for all the latest news and updates.    

Photo: Karen Santos

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