By Adam Olenn | May 17, 2012

Since 2002, singer-songwriter Mark DeRose has been building his fan base by gigging relentlessly up and down the Eastern seaboard, recording four albums both as the Ernest Goodlife Band and as Mark DeRose and the Way Home. Their most recent, Carolina Smile, was released in 2011.

A musician and freelance graphic designer, this 2005 alumnus has played at clubs and colleges, opening for higher-education favorites like Blues Traveler, Michelle Branch, and Rusted Root.

DeRose's song "All My Life" is both catchy and moving, and was penned in memory of his late father Martin, who passed away in 2002.