Matt Axton is a gifted singer/songwriter. Granted, that’s a claim made by many artists that inhabit the world of Americana these days, but in Matt’s case, it’s more than a mere boast. The ability to make music is firmly infused in his genes, courtesy of a family history that implanted that ability in him early on.
While he modestly describes his sound as a “humble slice of Americana,” it’s clear that it possesses so much more. With a style that encompasses country, folk, roots, rock, R&B, and pure pop proficiency, he defies easy categorization. With a rich reservoir of original tunes — over 300 in fact — and three well received albums (Blue Sky Rain, Matthew C. Axton and Badmoon), he’s established himself as a prolific and proficient singer, songwriter and guitarist, both on his own and at the helm of his various ensembles.
Axton tours nationally playing large festivals and iconic institutions as well as opening up for acts like Midland, Paul Cauthen, Jim Lauderdale, and Nikki Lane. The verve and versatility underscore the fact that Matt is a master of many motifs.
Tickets $20 Get yours now at The Martin or online at gbae.org
The ability to write songs that are both modern and ancient is a rare thing. The product of an arcane art of weaving in traditional influences so thoroughly that they become the warp and weft of fresh creations.
The Black Feathers, made up of Ray Hughes and Sian Chandler, are two such talents. They first became aware of the magic between them while collaborating on several musical projects, becoming The Black Feathers and life partners in 2012.
Americana, Folk, and Acoustic Indie Rock sensibilities coexist comfortably in their musical world, with Hughes’ guitar work buoying the kind of harmonies often only heard in family bands. Their music quickly draw the interest of listeners, but it is the stage chemistry that will keep them riveted.
Having already built up a loyal following in the UK, The Black Feathers have been spreading their wings across the US. They have performed at Philadelphia Folk Festival, Kate Wolf Music Festival, and AmericanaFest, and have also been awarded official showcases at the International, North East Regional and Far-West Folk Alliance conferences.
To classify Chris Duarte simply as a Blues Man is an understatement. In his own words, “rockin’ blues” or ”punk blues” describes him best. “Ferocious blues” also fits. Legend has it that Chris will play so hard that his fingers bleed in a set. The legend is true. Photos attest.
Chris Duarte is a road warrior playing more than 150 dates a year. As well, Chris has headlined major festivals and clubs throughout the US, Canada and Europe.
Chris is a savant, a sorcerer of tone, a master at channeling the spirits and sounds of great musicians of our past, while remaining completely recognizable in his own sound. He has shared his stage with many of the greatest musicians of our time as well as the multitude of “young lions” and local musicians he meets on the road. From his many years as a side man in Austin, he easily changes roles from front to side, graciously allowing all to share the conversation of the jam.
Chris Duarte’s music is ever changing. In many interviews, he has said “Music must evolve.” His own early offerings often become magical journeys into changing tempo and jazzy interludes before returning to their core. With such a vast catalog of recordings, there are no two shows alike. Every set list is different, and each song may be offered distinctly, based on the feel of a show and the audience. For those reasons, loyal fans often return to a Chris Duarte show again and again, and always walk away awed and satisfied to have witnessed such a legendary, but humble guitarist.
From the beginning, Jade Brodie has paved her own way. Armed with life experience and the truth, Brodie has begun to carve out her space in western songwriting using her unique style that blends each era of her life and facet of her personality with flawless depth and simplicity.
Brodie was raised in a small rural town most famous for its role as not only, “The Egg Basket of the World”, but also the filming location for Alfred Hitchcock’s, “The Bird’s”. Petaluma’s unique combination of dairy and poultry farming heritage, historic Victorian architecture, and direct correlation to the arts set the stage for Brodie’s unique take on the world, creating in her a set of values and interests that would eventually come full circle as her life played out.
Brodie left high school early, opting to move out on her own and start creating a path for herself at a young age. She worked odd jobs to pay the bills and began to explore her relationship with music, playing guitar and writing songs as an outlet for her creativity along the way. Eventually, she took a job with the railroad, with the intention of becoming a railroad mechanic, but eventually switched tracks and took a conductor job with Union Pacific instead.
Union Pacific took her to Winnemucca, NV. With half her time spent away from home, Brodie found the space to write and play more frequently, using her time plugging away down rail lines and nights spent alone in hotel rooms to pen songs about the things she was seeing, feeling, and experiencing. Hard hats and hard living began to take their toll, but almost fortuitously, Brodie was furloughed and forced to choose between life in rural Nevada, or a move back to urban San Jose, CA with the railroad. Brodie “pulled the pin” and never looked back, leaving her life on the rails for a job on a working cattle ranch — a decision largely driven by her lifelong love of horses.
Ranch life stuck. Brodie is still a working cowboy on one of the famed “big outfits” of Northern Nevada, writing songs about her new way of life in the same way she wrote about life on the railroad — with a truthfulness born of living what she writes about. Her songs are rich and multi-dimensional, balancing the hard realities of ranch life with a uniquely feminine perspective, sung and played in her soft yet forceful way.
Brodie has been featured in a number of songwriter showcases and plays independently throughout the western states, but most of the time she can be found in the saddle with a good horse beneath her and a good dog trotting along at her side, likely thinking on her next song and living life one day at a time.
Weaving together modern and traditional styles of American music, Never Come Down is a Portland, Oregon based band composed of Joe Suskind (guitar), Crystal Lariza (vocals), Lillian Sawyer (fiddle), and Kaden Hurst (mandolin). Their dedication to thoughtful songwriting and dynamic arrangements highlight polished technical skills and a commitment to listening to each other. Formed in 2018, the band began touring extensively- steadily cultivating a passionate fan base at home in the Pacific Northwest, and eventually around the country. NCD released their first studio album “Better Late Than Never” in 2021 and their second LP “Greener Pastures” in 2024. They’ve toured internationally and have found acclaim at festivals such as Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Iceland Airwaves, John Hartford Memorial Fest, Americanafest, FreshGrass and RockyGrass.
Hailing from Santa Cruz, CA, Poi Rogers performs original and vintage American roots music, with Gerard Egan doubling on acoustic guitar and triple neck steel and Carolyn Sills on standup bass, their timeless harmonies anchoring the show.
They won the 2018 and 2024 Ameripolitan Award for Western Swing Group (as ‘The Carolyn Sills Combo’), and Carolyn was named the Academy of Western Artists’ Western Swing Female Vocalist of 2020. They performed at the 2024 Monterey Jazz Festival and are both Sacramento Western Swing Hall of Fame inductees. They’ve been known to spontaneously perform other musicians’ material, from ZZ Top to Patsy Cline to Django Reinhardt. For them, it’s all about having a good time.
What began as a fun way for the couple to explore the vintage musical styles they love turned into an in-demand touring act, with the second Poi Rogers album due out in 2026.
Join us for an evening with Native Nevadan, Dale Erquiaga, while he shares his books inspired by the experiences of his Basque relatives and their lives in Nevada.
His book Three Wive’s Tales was the winner of 2020 Basque Writing Contest sponsored by the University of Nevada, Reno. The novel provides a glimpse into the lives of Victoria, Eladia, and Annie, three formidable Basque women who served as the backbone of their families in the American West. Woven together as a work of historical fiction, the memoirs and family lore of these three Nevada women capture a journey of self-discovery filled with wisdom
and strength that other Basque and immigrant families will
recognize. The author is the son and grandson of the tale’s protagonists.
His book from 2024 is A Soldier’s Road, a fictionalized history of two men who served in World War II. It details their very different upbringing – one the child of poor Spanish Basque immigrants in rural Nevada, the other a highly educated engineer with a stellar career in the Army and public service. Fabian “Bob” Rubianes served as an Army private in WWII and was horribly wounded on Okinawa in 1945. General Tom Farrell rose to become deputy commander of the Manhattan Project, targeting and later inspecting the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The book also details how these very different men traveled the post-war road home to their families, who would ultimately be connected by the marriage of the General’s great-granddaughter to Bob’s nephew, the book’s author.
About the Author: Dale Erquiaga is a native Nevadan, the grandson of Spanish Basque immigrants. He is the only person in Nevada history to serve as both state superintendent of public instruction and chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Dale was also the national president and CEO of Communities In Schools, the nation’s largest and most effective
dropout prevention organization. Other positions in government include service as senioradvisor chief strategy officer for Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval; director of the Nevada Department of Museums, Library & Arts; and Nevada’s chief deputy secretary of state. Dale holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nevada,Reno, and a master’s degree in leadership from Grand Canyon University. He is the proud father of two and grandfather of six. He resides in Northern Nevada with his dog,
Ezra. Dale is currently working on a third novel about his family.
This event is free and is part of a Literary Series in honor of Aliceann Doyle.
From Iceland to Italy, and all over the U.S., San Francisco based band Dirty Cello brings the world a high energy and unique spin on bluegrass and Americana. With wild vocals, and world class cello playing, the group is led by vivacious cross-over cellist, Rebecca Roudman. Dirty Cello is cello like you’ve never heard before. Dirty Cello is a band that gets your heart thumping and your toes tapping!
Dirty Cello performs all over the world, from Iceland to Israel, from Scottish castles to underground caves presenting an energetic and wild show that’s been described as,
“Dirty Cello’s music is all over the map: funky, carnival, romantic, sexy, tangled, electric, fiercely rhythmic, and textured, and only occasionally classical.” by Oakland Magazine.
Tickets $20 and are available online and at The Martin Hotel
We are honored to have Margo Cilker back on our stage to share her excellent songs and self. Her songs are powerful yet relatable; telling stories rooted in place, experience, and gifted perception and expression.
In the wake of the critically acclaimed “Valley of Hearts Delight” and her stunning debut “Pohoryll” Margo Cilker has made a name for herself as a clear-eyed troubadour, spinning songs from everyday truths. Her live performances are at once intimate and electric, inviting glimpses into the characters and moments that are the fabric of life. She makes her home near the Columbia River in Goldendale, Washington with her husband, songwriter and working cowboy Forrest VanTuyl, as well their dog and some horses.
Kyle-Matthew Taylor writes Americana songs rooted in earnest storytelling and the grit and grace of lived experience. His sound pulls from the quiet growl of Gillian Welch, the wry storytelling of John Prine, and the alt-rock sway of Wilco and Drive-By Truckers. After spending a decade in the Texas Hill Country—where he fronted the indie-rock project The Canvas People and sharpened his voice as a songwriter—he relocated to Nevada in 2021. His songs carry the fingerprints of his northeastern roots, his years in Austin’s creative orbit, and the lived-in honesty he brings to every lyric. Taylor’s music bridges heartache, hope, and the quiet moments in between. Join us for some Saturday night joy with Kyle and his band.
