Martin Gilmore Music - January 2026

Happy New Year!!!

2026 used to seem like the distant future, but here we are. It’s hard to believe, but amazing to experience. I am always so grateful to be doing what I am doing and looking forward to seeing everyone in the new year!

I usually start these letters with a recap of the previous month, but I feel like I should also recount some of my biggest happenings of the year as well!2025 was a fantastic year for me. I wrote over thirty songs for my Songsmith Series project on Patreon. One of those songs went on to be orchestrated and performed with the Colorado Symphony for their Youth Concert Series (more of those performances coming in February). I was one of the winners at the Kerrville New Folk Competition, and made several new friends through that experience. I enjoyed tours with Jackson Emmer, the New Folk Winners, and as a solo artist. I released a new album (“Thea is a Light Blue”) and a new single (“The Dry & Dusty West” out now on Bandcamp). I taught a host of new and wonderful students, performed at the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival, the Livingston Songwriting Festival, the Beef Beans & Bluegrass Festival, and so much more. I was so busy all year, and so grateful to be that way. Thank you for all your support and for opening your ears to my music throughout the year! It has been a wonderful one.

December was a perfect capper to all of that. I played a nice show with my trio and with my friend John Depew and his Trio at Swallow Hill. It was a fun night, the John Depew Trio was so amazing. I debuted a new song (which is probably going to happen a lot more in 2026) and enjoyed spending time with my musical friends and my Swallow Hill crew. I also went to Nashville to do some co-writing, and I filmed a songwriting interview at the International Bluegrass Music Association headquarters, which was a lot of fun. I also got to play Melody Walker’s Writer’s Kitchen night at the Inglewood Lounge which was a real treat. It was great to catch up with my friends and spend a little time in music city.

On December 20th, I was back at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder for their songwriter series for the longest night of the year. I did that last year, and it was so much fun to be at that wonderful venue. They have so much cool stuff going on at the Dairy, that it makes me wish I lived closer so I could spend all my time there! The rest of the month was mostly made up of holiday preparations and trying to get some rest before it all starts up again in 2026. I said it before, but I want to reiterate, I am very grateful to get to live this musical life and I always look forward to seeing new and familiar faces at every show. Thanks to you for making 2025 so great!

January gets off to a running start!I’m heading to Texas from January 8-12 on a short tour to make up for some shows I had to move to make space for the New Folk Tour in November.

January 8th, I will be at Kojacks in Houston at 7pm playing a solo singer-songwriter show. I have played there before with Jackson Emmer and it’s a fun spot with a great audience community.

January 9th I’ll be up the road at Location Six Brewing with my pal Hudson Mueller at 7pm. Hudson is a great songwriter, a super great guy, and I always love jamming with him. He has a great bluesy style with so many great songs. 

January 11th I will be in the Austin area playing a show at Arhaven House Concerts. This is an all acoustic show with no PA, which is my kind of scene! I love the feel and intimacy of an all acoustic show and I’m especially excited to be there in January (though it hasn’t been very cold in Colorado).

That’s my quick spin to Texas, come and see me if you can, I would love to say howdy!

I will be at the Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans from January 22-25. I will be playing a couple of showcases and helping to run the SWRFA room. If you will be there, come say howdy in the SWRFA room on Jan. 23 at 11:50pm and in the Kerrville Folk Festival Room on Jan. 24 at 11:30pm. Otherwise I’ll be hanging out chatting with folks about the music business!

The next week I will be at the Colorado Music Educators Conference in Colorado Springs presenting on how to start a folk and bluegrass ensemble in a school, and how to incorporate bluegrass music into the music classroom more broadly. If you have experience with an ensemble like this, please send me some anecdotes! I have a lot of experience with leading these classes at a college level, but I’m always trying to collect news and ideas for middle and high schoolers!

My Intermediate Bluegrass Ensemble Class at Swallow Hill will start again on January 7th at 8pm. There are always quite a few people signed up, but it’s a great place to come and learn some ensemble skills, develop a repertoire, try a new instrument, meet other players, etc. It’s a very low pressure place to come and make music with others. I would highly recommend it if you’re looking for a musical outlet.

For a more immersive experience, my Swallow Hill Bluegrass Band class starts up that same night! This is a sixteen week course, where we work on a full set of music and play an actual show! It requires an audition, because we limit it to one person per instrument. These classes are a lot of work, but also a great chance to develop some serious ensemble skills and find some musicians who are interested in doing the work of playing in a band. Feel free to contact me with questions. Auditions are open now, and we always need banjos and basses (hint, hint)!!!

Just as a little heads up for folks who might be interested, my Progressions: Songwriting and Progressions: Bluegrass Guitar classes start up in February. These are 16-week in-depth hybrid classes that meet one day each week online and another day each week in-person. Space is limited in each of them, and they are a big commitment, but they have been some of my most fulfilling teaching experiences and I am always blown away by the students’ progress throughout the course. If you’re interested in more information about those classes, reach out here, or you are welcome to attend our online Q&A session on January 13th at 7pm. 

In other news, I have a new single called “The Dry & Dusty West” which is the song I have been playing with the Colorado Symphony for their Youth Concert Series. It is available now on my Bandcamp page, but will be streaming everywhere on January 9th, so please make sure to check that out, and download it from bandcamp if you like it and feel like supporting an independent musician!

My YouTube Channel is going gangbusters, and there’s a lot more music and lesson videos coming in 2026! If you haven’t subscribed, it’s a great place to learn some of my tricks and songs!

Finally, I’m doing a lot of songwriting focused stuff on my Patreon. Subscribers at the lowest tier ($5/month) get access to a weekly original song as part of my Songsmith Series, as well as bonus stuff. Subscribers at the second tire ($10/month) get the lyrics and chords to those songs and other unique bonuses as well as all the stuff from the lower tiers. And subscribers at the highest tier ($25/month) get postcards and souvenirs from the road, and I’ll be starting a travel blog in 2026 for those folks. There’s also a good chance that there will be some podcast episodes with travel tips from musicians, but those will only be available on Patreon, so sign up now and follow me there! It’s a great place to support artists and creators directly, think of it as buying someone a cup of coffee each month to show that you support what they are doing and want to see them continue. Even if it’s not me, come on over and check it out. Maybe you’ll find a new way to engage with your favorite artists!

Here’s wishing you the happiest of new years, and may 2026 be full of light and music.

Thanks again for being here!

Martin