Martin Gilmore Music - November 2024
Happy Fall all Y’all!
What an amazing month October was!
I made a lot of new friends in Texas while touring with Jackson Emmer, and I especially enjoyed attending the annual Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) conference in Austin! I was an official showcase artist there, and was elected to the board of SWRFA for a three year term. SWRFA is part of Folk Alliance International which is a non-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen the community around folk music and songwriting. The conference features showcases, community building events, educational panels, and much more. If you are a musician or person associated with the music industry and would like to know more about SWRFA, Folk Alliance International, or any of the other regional Folk Alliance gatherings, let me know. I’m happy to fill you in!
I played a wonderful show in Montrose, Colorado for Uncompahgre Farms called Cowpoke Palooza, and made some new friends there. Our set was in the full sun in the heat of the day, but we still enjoyed bringing some traditional cowboy songs to the crowd. And finally, I had an amazing time on tour with Jackson Emmer in California. We presented three panels at the FAR West Folk Alliance gathering in Los Angeles, played a wonderful house concert in beautiful Santa Barbara, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Santa Cruz, California (which is probably one of my new favorite places on earth…y’all…I saw humpback whales jumping one morning while I was getting coffee…WHAT!?!?!)
November is usually when things start to slow down for the year, but that’s not really the case this year (luckily).
November 16th, I will be playing with John Depew at the United Center in Idaho Springs, Colorado at 7:00pm. John is a fantastic songwriter from Kansas, and is probably one of the most earnest artists that I know. His music is so great and so unique that I can’t recommend him highly enough. He’s also a wonderful and interesting person and I’m excited to share the stage with him and collaborate on some of our original songs as well as maybe some old Jimmy Driftwood songs! Please come and see this show if you can! Don’t wait to get your tickets!
We will also be at the Gold Hill Inn on November 17th at 5:30pm doing a similar thing. It’s always fun to spend some time at the picturesque Gold Hill Inn. The food is amazing, the atmosphere is authentically Colorado, and it’s always full of friends.
IMPORTANT: It’s well worth the drive up the mountain, but don’t follow the Google Maps route. Go to Boulder and head west on Mapleton up Sunshine Canyon.
November 21st I’ll be playing at Swallow Hill Music at 7:00pm with my dad Steve Gilmore and Denver music legend Harry tuft for his “Harry and Friends” monthly concert series. This will be a special and unique show because my dad and I don’t play shows together that often, though we play a lot of music together. We will be playing some songs that I grew up playing, talking about our musical upbringings, and I’ll play a couple of my originals as well. All of that threaded between stories and songs from Harry. He always has amazing stories and knows a trillion great songs. It will be a pretty special evening.
November 30th at 8pm, I will be at Oskar Blues in Lyons, Colorado playing the bluegrass music with some of my most favorite friends in a band we are calling “The Otherners”. The band features Justin Hoffenberg on fiddle, Eric Thorin on bass, Jordan Ramsey on mandolin, Dave Richey on Dobro, Chris Elliot on banjo, and myself on guitar. We will be playing new and old songs in the traditional bluegrass style for the good people of Lyons, Colorado (and you if you’re there). I love playing music with these guys and I’m excited to be back at Oskar Blues playing bluegrass.
On the teaching front, I will be leading a Wernick Method bluegrass jam camp at Swallow Hill Music starting November 10th. This is a bluegrass music intensive where students learn all about bluegrass jamming such as jamming etiquette, standard repertoire, how to lead songs, how to set up your own jam, and much more. It’s a perfect place for folks who are new to bluegrass to learn and apply their musical skills. It’s also a great place to work on a new instrument, so if you’re a guitarist who wants to try the bass or mandolin, come join us! We meet four Sundays from 10am-3pm starting on November 10th, with some breaks due to Thanksgiving, etc. If you have questions please contact me or Swallow Hill! We are especially looking for banjo players and bassists!
That’s about it for now. There’s a lot going on over at the Gilmore house. My son turns six this month, I have gutters to clean, things I’ve harvested to process for the winter, and much more. Stay warm and cozy and enjoy all these wonderful autumn colors!
Martin
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