Mitch grew up in the foothills of the Appalachians in Madison County, KY. He spent much of his childhood divided between his grandfathers' houses, one a fox hunter and tobacco farmer who plowed with mules and the other a musician and farmer, of sorts (he grew corn with which he made moonshine). In the course of learning his grandfathers' trades, there was much time for stories, jokes, and especially music. Mitch demonstrated musical talent from an early age, and performed with his mother in a regionally sought-after mountain duo. At age 17, he set out for the east coast as part of the folk duo Mandala, with whom he played for over 10 years. After moving back to Kentucky , he began to hone his storytelling skills, drawing on the life stories and experiences rare among his generation and those following. In 1996 he met Carla Gover and decided to refocus on his music career as part of a duo based on songwriting, vocal harmony, and perpetuating Appalachian culture. Since then, he has won the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merle Fest and the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award,The Rocky Mountain Folks fest,and the Telluride Troubadour songwriting contest.