He may only be 24 years old, but singer/songwriter Mark Alan has already experienced a roller coaster ride as a recording artist. The troubadours spent the past nine years in the spotlight, first appearing in a pair of Minneapolis based bands before running the solo route, which hes successfully straddled full time for the past five years. Along the way hes sold out a pressing of his 2001 indie album Here I Am, racked up an additional string of sales with 2004's Something That Lasts and broke additional boundaries both publicly and critically with 2005's The Broken EP. Along the way hes kept a steady concert calendar, hitting at least a hundred shows across the country each year, including opening slots for the likes of Dove Award winners Jeremy Camp and Sanctus Real. Add in acclaim at the internationally recognized United Kingdom Songwriting Contest (where his hit Got Me Flyin' scored the best Christian/Gospel song nod in 2005) and the journey has truly been productive. But take a listen to any of Alan's exceptional albums, catch him in concert, or meet him on the street and the troubadour is anything but the type of guy whod pump himself up. "I feel a big sense of security knowing this is what Im supposed to be doing," Alan relates. "Im not defined by what I do, which is a common trap a lot of artists can fall into. Making music is an extension of who I am." That carefully aligned equation of confidence and humility has obviously fostered an incredible appeal just as fervent for followers when catching Alan in front of 50 people in a cozy coffeehouse or 5,000 in a festival setting. Though hes played for literally any age group regardless of demographic, Alan especially reaches out to young people, from tweens to teens to twentysomethings seeking purpose in life. "I want to be a light to the youth of America and be a positive impact on culture, Alan asserts. I want to give them hope to make it through today, tomorrow, next year, especially when they dont feel like they have any."