SoKY’s Choice: A final encore for Marc Owens as community gathers in his honor
BOWLING GREEN, Ky (WNKY) – The Capitol in Bowling Green filled with music and memories Saturday night as friends, family and musicians gathered for ‘A Concert for Marc’, a benefit honoring the life and legacy of Marc Owens, a longtime fixture in Bowling Green’s music scene.
Owens, a drummer, sound engineer and producer, was remembered not just for his talent, but for the way he treated people. “Mark Owens was definitely a good soul. And he was always so kind and so happy to see you,” Tony Lindsey said. “And even if it was like you just saw each other a day apart, he was so glad to see you, you know, just a good, just a good guy.”
The concert featured bands closely connected to Owens, including Government Cheese, The Josephines and Black Stone Cherry, artists he worked with through his studio on High Street and throughout his career. “If we were doing a show and he wasn’t even involved, he was there to help,” Tony said. “He was always there to lend a hand, for sure. Just a wonderful guy.”
Friends said music wasn’t just Owens’ job, it was his life. “Music was his entire life,” Zach Lindsey said. “If you sat down with him or saw him anywhere and brought up the slightest detail about any song, he would talk to you for two hours about it. Music was everything.”
That passion showed every time he was in the studio. “He was like a child in a studio,” Zach said. “If somebody did something that was really great, he was like, my God. So he was just, he never lost that innocence and that ability to be excited about music.”
Small details on stage served as reminders of Owens, including a pair of his trademark white sneakers. “Those were the only shoes he’s ever wore,” Zach said. “I’ve literally, I can’t think of a time in my life that I didn’t know Mark, and I can’t think of a time in my life that he was wearing a different pair of shoes.”
Beyond honoring his memory, the concert also had a mission: supporting his children. “We’re just very appreciative of the sponsors that sponsored this thing,” Tony said. “With them sponsoring the event, it made all of the overhead was covered, so 100% of the ticket sales go to Mark’s children.”
Musicians said Owens’ influence on the local scene is impossible to measure. “Mark was an incredible figurehead for Bowling Green, the music scene and surrounding areas,” Local business-owner Matt Pfefferkorn said. “I mean, the production work that he did and just his presence in the Bowling Green music scene for decades is unmeasurable.”
While the night was emotional, friends said it was also a celebration of a legacy that will continue. “Obviously bittersweet, you know, given the circumstances and everything,” Pfefferkorn said, “but, you know, the bands and the community that are here, I mean, it’s, you know, we can turn it into a little bit of, maybe a celebration of sorts in what he’s done and what his legacy will prove and live on throughout the decades here.”
