Martin Gilmore Music - September 2026

Martin Gilmore
11 hours ago
5 min read

Martin Gilmore Music -

September 2026

Martin Gilmore on the Oregon Trail at Scotts Bluff National Monument (Mitchell Pass in the background)

Howdy friends! September is one of my favorite times of year. The heat of the summer starts to die down, the leaves start to change colors up in the mountains, things in the garden are ripe, and…well, I just love autumn. August was hot! Not just the weather, but all the stuff happening in my musical world as well! I played a few gigs around the region including a wonderful concert at a community center in Cheyenne, WY, a fun house concert here in Denver, and some other small gigs around the city. I was glad to be back at the Beef Beans and Bluegrass Festival in Scottsbluff, Nebraska and had a great time hanging out with High Plains Tradition and the Tim O’Brien Band (as well as many others). It was also wonderful to return to the Gold Hill Inn and see my friends up there.

Big News!

After years of requests, I finally had an album pressed on vinyl! My latest record, Thea is a Light Blue, is now available for pre-order on beautiful blue vinyl. This first pressing is limited to just 100 copies, and each one comes with a special sticker of authenticity marking it as part of the original run. Pre-orders will ship on September 29th, but if you’re a member of my Patreon, you can get your copy a couple of weeks early. Just message me through Patreon and I’ll send it your way. I’m so excited to finally have this record on vinyl, and I can’t wait for you to hear it this way! Here’s the link to purchase it on Bandcamp: martingilmore.bandcamp.com/album/thea-is-a-light-blue

***P.S. If you buy it on Friday, September 4th, I get to keep all the revenue because Bandcamp waives its revenue share on the first Friday of every month!***

September picks up quite a bit both in shows and teaching!

Shows

September 5th — Society Hall, Alamosa, CO I will be at Society Hall in Alamosa playing a show with legendary Texas songwriter George Ensle. This is a wonderful venue, and I’m excited to do a Texas-style songwriter’s round with George. He was friends with Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and many other Texas legends, and he’s written some really fantastic songs.

September 18th — The Old Gallery, Allenspark, CO

I will be at the Old Gallery in Allenspark playing a solo songwriter’s show. It’s a wonderful little intimate venue in the foothills near Lyons. If you’re around (or want to take a trip to the mountains) come check it out!

September 24–27 — Southwest Regional Folk Alliance, Austin, TX

I will be at the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance in Austin, where I’ll be leading some panels and playing a few unofficial showcases. If you are a folk musician, music professional, or have an interest in the DIY music business and you live in the southwestern part of the U.S. (CO, OK, TX, NM, AZ), come and join us! It’s a great place to network, find bands, and meet like-minded musical folks! A couple of other things to put on your radar.

I will be playing in Lake Huntington, NY at The Delaware Valley Opera for their Arts Nest concert series on October 10th at 7pm.

Then, I will be in Hop Bottom, PA on October 11th playing a show at The Store at 2pm.

It’s my first time out that way as a solo act, so if you know anyone who lives in the area, please let them know about these shows. I’m very excited to get up that way.

I will also be at Swallow Hill on October 15th doing a songwriter’s round concert with Jackson Emmer and Megan Burtt.

We will be in Basalt, CO the next night, October 16th at TACAW.

Classes

My Progressions classes at Swallow Hill start this week! These are in-depth, 16-week classes, with one focused on songwriting and the other on bluegrass guitar. They’re some of my favorite classes to teach, and one of the things I love most is watching the students grow together and become a close-knit cohort over the course of the semester.

These classes are a significant investment, but I work hard to make them a great value. In addition to our class sessions, students get a dedicated webpage full of lessons, recordings, practice materials, and other resources that they’ll continue to have access to after the class is over. My hope is that Progressions is more than just a semester-long class, it’s an investment in your learning, creativity, and musical skills that continues long after our sixteen weeks together.

There’s still time to sign up, and I still have room in both classes, though space is limited. If you’ve been thinking about taking your songwriting or bluegrass guitar playing to the next level, I’d love to have you join us! Please reach out if you have any questions, or sign up now. For folks who are interested in diving into bluegrass jamming I will be teaching a Wernick Method Jam Class on September 12th and 13th from 9am-5pm. This will be an immersive weekend of jamming and playing bluegrass music. It’s a great place to learn the basics of jamming, try out a new instrument, meet some folks to pick tunes with, and much more. There’s still room to sign up and I would love to have you in the class! Other Special Stuff

My Youtube channel just passed 8000 subscribers, which is an amazing milestone for me. That’s about how many people live in Platte County, Wyoming where I grew up. I’m very grateful for the audience and the folks who enjoy my music and lesson videos. If you haven’t already, come on over and subscribe. There’s lots of stuff there! My Patreon is coming off its summer hiatus today, and I’m excited to get back to it! Paid subscribers at different tiers have access to a variety of things I create throughout the year, including new original songs each week through my Songsmith Series, songwriting prompts and exercises, behind-the-scenes material, and Across the Songlines, where I write about folk music history, interesting places, and the stories that connect to the songs we sing. Patreon members also get access to my podcast, The Places We Play, where I talk with fellow musicians about their favorite venues, towns, and stops on the road.

I put a lot of time and care into my Patreon, and I’m always adding new things that interest me and that I think you’ll enjoy. It’s a place where I can share things that don’t necessarily fit on social media or anywhere else, and, of course, subscribing is also a great way to directly support the music, writing, and other work I’m creating. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, consider joining me over there!

Happy back to school to all of you who are participating, and happy end of summer. Let’s pray for more rain in these dry places! Martin

P.S. Please buy my vinyl records!