Our Story

Prior to teaming up, however, their musical journeys led them to different places. After singing for jingle companies in Indianapolis, along with a 4-year stint as the featured vocalist at The Little Nashville Opry in Nashville, Indiana, Juli moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the encouragement of Grand Ole Opry star, Bill Anderson. She appeared often as a musical guest on TNN’s “Nashville Now” and was a regular vocalist on “The Ralph Emery Show,” a locally-televised morning show throughout middle Tennessee. She soon began working as a studio vocalist, singing demo’s for songwriters and as a back-up singer on live shows for Grammy Award winning country artist, Linda Davis. Throughout this time, she also developed her songwriting skills and some of her co-written songs are signed with major publishing companies.

Mark always had a love for songwriting and after moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana, he eventually formed his own original band, “The Pillars Of Society,” as the lead vocalist. “The Pillars Of Society” were a popular band for many years in the Fort Wayne area, performing at various local venues, festivals, and as an opening act for several artists such as Bo Diddley, Eliza Gilkyson, John Hiatt, and Paul Thorn. They also garnered the interest of Grammy Award winning producer/multi-instrumentalist/composer/arranger, Scott Mathews, who produced several songs for them.

The two reconnected in 2018 when Mark reached out to Juli to ask if she would demo one of his songs. She agreed and ultimately they decided to try their hand at co-writing. Since that time, they have continued to collaborate musically. Their songs are a combination of folk, country, Americana, rockabilly, and gospel. Juli brings her mix of musical influences such as, Patsy Cline, Linda Ronstadt, and Dolly Parton, while Mark adds his influences of Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Neil Young. When asked to describe their sound, Burris says, “It’s been in the oven for a lot of years.”

Their first album is entitled “She Marches On,” which is also the title of one of the 13 tracks. Some of the songs were inspired from movies and documentaries. It contains an array of themes. There are songs about love, such as “Won’t You Spend The End Of The World With Me?” and “Dustin Hoffman.” “She Marches On” touches on the strength and resilience of women and “Good Trouble” is about John Lewis and his courageous message.

Several seasoned Nashville musicians helped to bring the songs to life on “She Marches On.” As opposed to going into the studio and recording several songs at once, it came together slowly - song by song. Each song would start with basic rhythm tracks and then build from there. Depending on the instrument desired, the files were typically sent to the musician. They would record their part and then return the files. Juli sang the majority of the background vocals, with Mark adding a few, also. The end result...”She Marches On.”

Look for the album coming out in the Spring of 2026.