Mark Jacob Lenderman (born February 4, 1999), also known as MJ Lenderman and Jake Lenderman is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His style has been described as

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

and

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

. Lenderman joined the band

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...

in 2020 and is currently a non-touring member. He also has played drums for

Indigo De Souza Indigo De Souza (born July 1, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter from Asheville, North Carolina. Her third album, ''All of This Will End'', was released in April 2023. She has been noted for creating "intimate, anxious indie rock songs

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

...

. Lenderman's solo career began to gain traction with his 2022 album ''Boat Songs'', followed by 2024's ''Manning Fireworks''.

Biography

Early life and education

Lenderman was born in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, and grew up in a family of musicians. He started playing guitar around seven or eight years old. His great-grandfather was saxophonist

Charlie Ventura Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo; December 2, 1916 – January 17, 1992) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Career During the 1940s, Ventura played saxophone for the bands ...

. He was raised Catholic and was an

altar boy An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helping bring up the gifts, and bringing up ...

. He played basketball and obsessively watched tapes of

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

. He grew up listening to

Mark Linkous Frederick Mark Linkous (September 9, 1962 – March 6, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as leader of Sparklehorse. He was also known for his collaborations with such artists as Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Daniel J ...

and

Jason Molina Jason Andrew Molina (December 30, 1973 – March 16, 2013) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. Raised in northern Ohio, he came to prominence performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast o ...

. In his junior and senior years of high school, he began posting his music to

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

. Lenderman studied at UNC Asheville for three semesters.

Career

In 2018, Lenderman played the drums for fellow Asheville artist

...

on her albums '' I Love My Mom'' and '' Any Shape You Take''. Lenderman met Karly Hartzman, lead singer for the group Wednesday, and he joined the band for an EP called ''How Do You Let Love Into the Heart That Isn't Split Wide Open'' (2018). In July 2019, he released a self-titled album, his first solo album. At that time, he was working in an ice cream shop to support himself financially. Lenderman toured with Wednesday in early February 2020, until the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

ended the tour. During the

, while collecting

unemployment insurance Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

, Lenderman wrote the songs that became the album ''Ghost of Your Guitar Solo'', released in 2021. His third album '' Boat Songs'' was released in 2022 on Dear Life Records. It was listed as one of the best albums of 2022 by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'',

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

, and '' The Ringer''. After the success of the album, Lenderman signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

Anti- Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. Founded by Andy Kaulkin, Anti- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits's Grammy Award–winning '' Mule Variations'' in 1999. Other veteran recordin ...

. In 2023, he released the singles "Rudolph" and "Knockin'". Lenderman contributed guitar and vocals to the album ''Tiger's Blood'' by

Waxahatchee Waxahatchee is an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Kathryn Crutchfield (born January 4, 1989), known professionally as Katie Crutchfield, following the breakup of her previous band P.S. Eliot. The ban ...

, released in March 2024, and was listed as featured guest artist on the album's lead single, "Right Back To It". In March 2024, Lenderman performed "Right Back To It" with Waxahatchee on ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

''. Lenderman's next album, '' Manning Fireworks'', was released in September 2024. Lenderman departed as a touring member of Wednesday in 2025. He stated that he still planned to record with the group.

Critical reception

Critic Jeremy D. Larson, writing for

, gave Lenderman's album ''Manning Fireworks'' an 8.7, calling it "witty and sincere, the mark of a songwriter finding his voice."

Personal life

Lenderman was in a relationship with his

bandmate Karly Hartzman for six years. In July 2024, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' reported that the two had split. In a February 2025 interview with '' GQ'', Lenderman revealed that the two broke up in March 2024 while on tour in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and initially kept it a secret from other Wednesday members.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

¹Lenderman and Karly Harztman

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenderman, Mark Jacob 1999 births Living people American indie rock musicians Musicians from Asheville, North Carolina