ANNA TIVEL’s wide-eyed celestial folk songs belong in a similar ballpark with Anais Mitchell, Gregory Alan Isakov and Laura Veirs, where gentle picking plucks among occasionally unconventional sounds and a gorgeous voice tells stories of life in a world of natural wonders. The resulting music is incredibly honest, lyric-driven, and deeply affecting.
An internationally touring artist with a deep love of quiet stories, Anna is beginning to carve a place for herself in the songwriting world. She was a winner at last year’s Kerrville Songwriting Contest, and has shared the stage with heroes and friends like Gregory Alan Isakov, Shook Twins, Anais Mitchell, Jefferson Hamer, Peter Mulvey, Matt the Electrician, Devon Sproule, Darlingside, Steve Poltz, Jeffrey Martin and more.
Although he was an accomplished and fully engaged English teacher, for JEFFREY MARTIN music (and the tour life) was a constant raccoon scratching at the back door. He spent nights on end sitting up in bed, and then sitting on the front porch, staring off into the dark, wondering if he could bear to leave teaching to go on tour full time. Eventually his brain caught up with what his guts had known for months. With tears in his eyes he announced to his students that he wouldn’t be back the following year, and that he didn’t feel right hollering at them to chase their dreams at all cost if he wasn’t going to do the same. Jeffrey Martin tours full time now. He is always making music, and he is always coming through your town. He misses teaching like you might miss a good old friend who you know you’ll meet again. Jeffrey has put out bunches of music since 2009, but he’s most proud of the more recent stuff. He’s fortunate to be a part of the great and loving family that is Fluff and Gravy Records in Portland, OR.
Martin has shared shows with Sean Hayes, Gregory Alan Isakov, Courtney Marie Andrews, Jeffrey Foucault, Joe Pug, Peter Mulvey, Sean Rowe, and others.
