You never know when love will come around. Mark and Aimee Bumgarner, the husband-and-wife team who make up Calico Moon, embody this truth both in their personal story and in their music. Together, their sound is a seamless blend of roots country and pure mountain soul, sharpened by an eclectic edge that places them squarely in the thriving Americana tradition.
It was a chance encounter at a Del McCoury concert at the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina that first brought the two together. The connection was instantaneous, and, in the midst of the budding romance that followed, a magical and unexpected musical union was forming as well.
Mark’s musical journey was already well underway when the two met in 2004. A seasoned musician, he had performed with several national and regional touring bands, and was hard at work on his first solo acoustic album, On My Way Back Home. Although she grew up in a musical family and was a self-described “front porch singer,” Aimee had never given much thought to performing music professionally. She had recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was teaching English at a rural public high school north of Asheville. Early in their courtship, the first time Mark visited Aimee’s little cabin, nestled in the mountains just north of Asheville, he brought along his guitar. There on the front porch, he began to play and sing. Aimee quietly joined in with the harmony. One song led to another, and so the roots of Calico Moon took hold.
Mark and Aimee were married in 2007, and on Valentine’s Day 2008 welcomed their daughter, Kate, into their lives. In 2010, the day after Thanksgiving, their son Andrew joined the family. You can read more about their days together here.
