Martin Gilmore Music - October 2025

Happy fall all y’all!

I’m sitting in the airport writing this, which seems to have been my home this September. I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass Conference. I was nominated for a Momentum Award for Mentorship alongside some real heavy hitters. I didn’t win, but I’m not hurt by that. It was amazing just to be nominated amongst some of the most respected and long serving teachers in bluegrass music. I also had a wonderful time showcasing with my friends Nick Amodeo, Chris Elliott, and Morgan Blaney. We played at the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society’s new showcase room, which was THE place to be at IBMA this year. Major props to John Pierce who really delivered a great atmosphere and a wonderful opportunity for Colorado Bluegrass Music. I led a mentoring session for songwriters thanks to my new friend Mike Mitchell of the Floyd Music School in Floyd, Virginia. On top of all that I saw so many old bluegrass friends and made some new ones. I love the bluegrass community and IBMA feels like a homecoming every year even though it was in a new city (Chattanooga is a really cool city by the way!)

I was also at the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) in Austin, TX (Which is where I’m writing this). I am on the board of this fantastic organization of songwriters and musicians. We gather once each year to showcase our songs and new projects, discuss the state of the DIY music business, share ideas and innovations, but mostly just to be around folks doing the same things as each other. Like any self-employed person, it’s easy to feel like we are out in the trenches all by ourselves, and it’s nice to be amongst a community of peers struggling with the same struggles and sharing your experiences. SWRFA is part of the larger Folk Alliance International organization and if you are a musician or a person involved and interested in music, I would encourage you to become a member. Feel free to reach out and i will plead my case to you directly! October slows down a little. I have a lot less travel, and fewer public shows this month, but some other cool things are starting up. 

Most immediately, I will be at the Livingston Songwriter’s Festival in Livingston, Montana from October 2nd-4th, performing solo and alongside my friend Jackson Emmer. We will be driving up through Powder River Country and talking about Red Cloud’s War no doubt. This festival is part of a series of songwriter festivals happening up north and features some great established and up-and-coming songwriters. If you will be in that area, come on up for some great original music by some of the best in the business. 

Later in the month I will be starting my residency with the Colorado Symphony as one of their featured artists for their Youth Concert Series. They do a series of concerts for youth around the Denver area and have artists come and perform with the orchestra to talk about their style and genre of music. The Colorado Symphony chooses a song by the featured artists, arranges it for orchestra and performs it over eight or nine days in the fall and spring of the school year. I am very excited and humbled to be one of those artists for the 2025-26 season. They chose a new song that I wrote this spring titled “The Dry and Dusty West”, arranged it, and orchestrated it, and we will start those concerts at the end of the month. 

I wrote “Dry and Dusty West” for my Songsmith Series on my Patreon Page, and to see it come into being in this way is so wonderful and magical. It’s always surreal to see something I made up at my kitchen table turn into a real happening…a real collection of humanity coming together to make music for a purpose. You can hear a solo version of the song on my YouTube page or by becoming a paid member of my Patreon page, and I will release a version with a full bluegrass band this fall. If you want to hear it with the orchestra…well…I’m still working out how to make that happen, but stay tuned! If you have any kids in area schools, check to see if they are coming to the concerts and maybe you can chaperone!

I will be doing a one-hour online concert on Monday, October 13th at 8pm (Denver Time) for my YouTube channel. It will feature a solo show of all original music focused on songs from my first album and from my bluegrass band Long Road Home. Log on and join me if you can!

Starting on October 27th, I will be leading an online course about bluegrass music for the University of Denver’s Enrichment Program. The class will run on Monday evenings for four weeks from 6:30p-8:30pm on Zoom. You don’t have to be a member or alumni of DU, and you don’t even have to live in Denver to join! I will cover the history and culture of bluegrass music, talk about old and new artists, and give you all sorts of “inside-baseball” about the culture. There are still a few spaces left, but it’s filling up, so don’t wait! Sign up now! (Here’s the link.)

There are a few things I want to put on your radar that aren’t in October. 

November 2nd, I will be hosting a SWRFA one-day music business event in Fruita, Colorado at the Lithic Bookstore and Gallery. We will be having panel discussions, open-mic performances, and community building events focused on the DIY music business and the music industry in Western Colorado. Please come join us if you can!

November 6th I will be in Garden City, Kansas playing a living room Concert at High Plains Public Radio’s studios. Come and join me for that if you are around!

November 7th, I will be at the Chalice Abbey in Amarillo, Texas playing a solo concert. Then, from November 8th-16th I will be on the New Folk tour with the other winners of the 2025 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk songwriting contest. I will have more about the specific dates in the November newsletter, but if you are in Texas, check out the dates of the concerts because I would love to see you, and I know you will love these other fantastic songwriters! Here’s the link for the tour!

Finally, a note that my Patreon Page has a couple of new things that might be of interest. I introduced a higher level of contribution which features perks associated with my touring. I’ll send you stickers and postcards from the road, maintain a travel blog, and feature some intermittent discussions with musicians about their favorite travel stops and hidden treasures in towns across the country (and maybe beyond). I have also restarted my Songsmith Series, which features a new original song each week. That project is available to all paid tiers. 

For those of you who might not be familiar with Patreon, it’s a way to support artists, creators, and musicians in a sustainable way. Spotify and other streaming services pay fractions of a cent for each play, and folks aren’t buying CDs as much anymore, so this is a way to help independent musicians like me keep going. It’s kind of like buying me a cup of coffee each month, but it mostly goes to music production and feeding my 7-year-old. It’s a cool community of folks over there, and I love making the stuff that I post, so come and join me on Patreon!

Thanks for all your support and generosity, it’s great to be able to make a living doing this and there are always so many exciting things happening. I’m grateful to be busy, and a lot of that has to do with you all supporting me and my projects. Happy October!

Martin