Texas-based songwriter Mark Winters has added Central Oregon to his Good Vibes Highway Tour this spring with a stop at Bend’s The Commonwealth Pub April 29. Winters began his career as a “Bonafide rocket scientist” and found inspiration through the connection created through music as he recently explained to the Source.
the Source: When did you first start playing music?
Mark Winters: My music journey really began in 2011. I set a goal to learn a song so I could sing it to my wife for our anniversary at our favorite Italian restaurant. Music had always been the soundtrack to my life – rollerblading, surfing, cycling, riding motorcycles, studying – it was always there, making every experience feel a little more alive. But I had never performed before. When I sang that song and locked eyes with my wife across the table, something clicked in a way I had never experienced before. It lit a fire in me. I’d spent much of my life writing poetry and painting – creativity had always been part of me – but the emotional connection I felt through music that night was completely different. From that moment on, I was hooked.
tS: What inspires you to create?
MW: A lot of my inspiration comes from watching the world around me. My background in science trained me to notice patterns – motion, weather, cause and effect – and I find those same patterns everywhere in everyday life. A conversation with someone after a show, the way clouds move across a mountain range, or even the rhythm of tires on the highway between cities can spark an idea. In a way, songwriting feels a little like observing a natural system. You notice something interesting, follow the energy of it, and eventually it settles into a form that people can feel together through music.
tS: Do you still work in any scientific field or are you a full-time working musician?
MW: My background is in aerospace engineering, and that way of thinking is still very much part of me. These days my focus is primarily on music and touring, but the scientific mindset never really leaves. Engineering teaches you to observe systems, to understand how things interact and move. In a strange way, songwriting feels similar – you’re balancing melody, rhythm, language, and emotion until everything works together.
tS: How are you able to incorporate science and music in a cohesive way?
MW: I don’t try to teach science in my songs. It shows up more as metaphor and perspective.
Concepts like motion, energy, balance or orbit are simply part of how I see the world. Sometimes those ideas slip naturally into the language of a song the same way landscapes or weather might. It’s less about explanation and more about using those ideas as a lens for understanding human experiences. My engineering background also helps give structure to the creative process – and I’ve found that just a little structure can actually open up a lot of space for creativity.
tS: Have you found that there are similar complexities between science and music?
MW: Very much so. Science is about discovering patterns and relationships. How forces interact and influence each other. Music works in a similar way. Melody, rhythm, and emotion are all interacting systems. In both fields you’re trying to take something complex and find a form that makes it feel simple and meaningful.
tS: You mention using AI to assist with songwriting. How has using the tool helped and/or hindered your creative process?
MW: I tend to think of AI as a creative tool rather than a creator. It can help explore possibilities or spark ideas, but the heart of a song, the feeling and perspective behind it, still comes from a human place. That’s the part I connect with. For me, the technology is interesting, but it’s the human experience behind the music that really matters.
tS: Do you have a band that will be touring with you or is this a solo venture?
MW: The Good Vibes Highway Tour moves between a few different formats. Some shows are solo acoustic; some include collaborators or a small band depending on the venue. The goal is to keep the music close to the songs themselves — lyric-forward and adaptable to listening rooms, theaters, and spaces where people can really settle in and listen.
tS: Your “Good Vibes Highway Tour” includes a lot of Northwest dates. Have you ever been to the Pacific Northwest before?
MW: Yes, and it’s one of my favorite places to travel. There’s something about the landscape of the Pacific Northwest, the mountains, the weather patterns, the sense of space, that really resonates with the reflective side of the music I write. It’s a beautiful place to slow down and listen.
Winters notes that he is “grateful whenever a community welcomes a traveling songwriter into their town,” adding that he hopes the experience he brings can be “a space where the songs can breathe and people can relax into the music together.” You can check out his music at Mark Winters Music online.
Mark Winters
Wed, Apr 29 7:30pm
The Commonwealth Pub
30 SW Century Dr. Suite 100 Bend
thecommonwealthpub.com/facebook-event/mark-winters/
Free
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