Bozeman Magazine

Jeffery Martin at Live from the Divide on Saturday, October 15th at 8pm "Born in Texas in 1984, Jeffrey Martin quickly made his way to the Northwest where he discovered in nature and in people what would be the deep well for much of his songwriting. His father was a lover of stories, especially in music, and Martin was raised with a careful ear cocked and listening to Neil Young, John Prine, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, and Harry Chapin. He was fortunate to live in Eugene, OR for much of his adolescence, where in the late 90’s and early 2000’s there was a strong and steady flow of folk songwriters touring through. Leo Kotke, John Gorka, and David Wilcox were huge inspirations. In 2011 Jeffrey Martin caught a lucky break, a chance encounter with a prominent local promoter at a rowdy dive bar. Through that meeting he was invited to open for Tracy Grammer and then David Wilcox, which then lead to a few small tours, and eventually a finalist slot in a national songwriting competition in New York City and a successful national tour. Martin’s music has been likened to the styles of Josh Ritter and Joe Pug, with an attention to storytelling reminiscent of Harry Chapin and John Prine. Since 2011 Jeffrey has released two full length albums (Gold in the Water (2011) and Dogs in the Daylight (2014)), and one EP entitled Build a Home (2012.) Also in 2014, Martin signed to the sensational Portland record label Fluff and Gravy Records, where he still makes a happy musical home, along with fellow artists Mike Coykendall, Nick Jaina, Fernando, Dan Stuart, Richmond Fontaine, Anna TIvel and others. In 2014 Martin was invited to perform at Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Contest, and this year he will be performing at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in their song competition as well. After taking a brief hiatus from touring in order to teach high school English in 2015/16, Jeffrey Martin is back on the road touring full-time nationally, with plans to hit the UK in the Spring of 2017. He has shared shows with the likes of Sean Hayes, Anais Mitchell, Joe Pug, Jefferson Hamer, David Wilcox, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jeffrey Foucault, Frank Fairfield, and others."