Mountain Natives

Mountain Natives is an Americana folk duo from Dallas, TX. Overcoming cancer has given Philip Pappas and his wife Loren a new vision for life. Following Philip Pappas' victory over cancer, he and his wife Loren started the band M O U N T A I N N A T I V E S to sing about overcoming mountains of adversity and living true to your passions and dreams. After graduating with a Bachelor's in Physics, Philip encountered deep sadness when he realized that he was doing it for monetary reasons and had never asked the Lord what HE wanted him to pursue. Deep down he had known the answer all along, but never felt worthy to pursue what his heart truly desired. So he stepped out in faith. Philip had just turned 27, met the woman who was to become his wife, was pursuing his craft of music, and then he got CANCER. His soon to be fiance pointed out a mole on his shoulder and asked him to go to the dermatologist. The mole was more than twice the size it needed to be to metastasize and spread malignant melanoma throughout his body. It was biopsied. And it was cancerous. He was then referred to an oncologist for surgery to find where the cancer had spread. After a rally of prayer from loved ones, a surprised doctor sent Philip home from surgery with a 5 inch scar on his shoulder. The cancer was gone. The music that was produced by Philip and Loren was not from a place of wallowing in the doubt of life or death. These "Essential" songs were born from a place of hope and gratitude. That hope is impressed on not just the ears but the heart of the listener. Hope for the miraculous. Philip and Loren want you to believe in the hope that the impossible is possible. Mountains of adversity can be thrown into the sea. Mountain Natives has performed alongside Drew Holcomb, Johnnyswim, Angelo De Augustine, Matthew McNeal, Dawson Hollow, Andrew Holmes, Aaron Einhouse, and Crystal Yates. Performed at the 2018 "Silobration" in Waco at Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Silos from TV show "Fixer Upper". Interviewed and performed on KXUL and UTA radio. Radio Play in Dallas, UTA Radio, KCLC St. Louis, Telluride, KXT Dallas, Grand Rapids, and The Bronx. Numerous shows in the Dallas / Fort Worth area such as The Rustic, City Tavern, Witherspoon Distillery, Three Links Deep Ellum, Sundown at Granada, Magnolia Motor Lounge, and performed at Earth Day Dallas to an estimated 30,000 people, and The Deep Ellum Arts Festival. Has performed at The El Rey Theater in Albuquerque, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Napa, Portland, Eugene, Seattle, Flagstaff, & Colorado Springs, Austin, and San Antonio, Asheville, Atlanta, Tupelo, Nashville. Featured in Dutch Music Blog Gobsmag and "Ear to The Ground Music". Debut Album, "Essential" broke through iTunes top 100 & charted #91. Over 100,000 streams on Spotify. Sync Representation by Synchoney and Pusher Music. "If Male-Female duo harmonies are your thing, you'll love this track. The lyrics are crisp, reminding you of something that could have come out of Simon and Garfunkel or CSNY. It defintely holds that historic weight in my mind" - Ear to the Ground Music