John Mark McMillan is an indie rock artist from Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, where he grew up playing in local rock bands. In June of 2005, McMillan released his first album, Hope Anthology Volume One. Just a few months after the release of this album, McMillan lost his best friend in a tragic accident, bringing him into a troubling time. It was the grief caused by this accident, and the subsequent rise from it, that inspired him to create his second anthology, The Song Inside The Sounds of Breaking Down.