Back in the 1970s, Chance Martin was Johnny Cash’s right-hand man. He pulled double duty as stage manager and lighting director for the Man in Black, who rewarded Chance by handing over his own D35 Martin guitar. Chance used the acoustic guitar to write a psychedelic country record, In Search, which was privately released in [...]

  Matthew Perryman Jones believes there’s magic in his Martin D-18. “When I make the first strum on a guitar, I can tell if there’s a song inside of it that needs to come out,” said the Nashville songwriter, who has released three albums since 2008 and scored numerous song placements on television for shows [...]

March/April 2013 “On My Deathbed” winner Nicholas Sumner reveals his prize picks. From Nickel Creek to Tom Waits, read Nick’s ruminations on the picks that helped him win the Martin D-35 Seth Avett Custom Signature Guitar. And enter the May/June “On My Deathbed” contest for your chance to win a Martin GPCPA1 Plus Guitar. Trouble [...]

This article appears in our upcoming May/June “country” issue. Subscribe here. READ OUR REVIEW OF THE GUITAR For more than a decade, Scott and Seth Avett have slowly built a career as The Avett Brothers – progressing from playing for anyone who would listen to them in their native North Carolina to recording best-selling albums, [...]

Nashville singer-songwriter Trent Dabbs, whose song “Shine” was recently featured on ABC’s Nashville,  invited us into his lair to hear “Mountain Song,” an elegant and beautifully understated track off his forthcoming album. In the latest installment of our Martin Guitar: Session series, Dabbs picked on a D-18, which is regarded as the ultimate bluegrass model. [...]

Singer-songwriter Elise Davis has won American Songwriter and Martin Guitar’s “The Pub Deal,” a year-long $20,000 publishing contract with HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc. All the entries were carefully reviewed and discussed, with the help of judges Holly Williams, Dean Dillon, Martin Ambassador Mac Powell and Martin Ambassador Hunter Hayes. Davis, 24, has been releasing albums independently since her [...]

American Songwriter, American Songspace, and Martin Guitar have announced “The Pub Deal”– a one of a kind contest that will give away a year-long, $20,000 publishing contract with HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc. “We’re extending this invitation to the Nashville songwriting community and beyond,” said American Songspace Creative Director, John Ritchie. “Whether you’ve had a publishing [...]

Announcing the September/October “On My Deathbed” contest presented by Martin Guitar, and this time in retro fashion. Back in July, we witnessed firsthand in Nashville as Martin Guitar unveiled the “Golden Era” Retro Series at Summer NAMM.   In partnership with Fishman Acoustics, Martin set out to approximate the sound of the pre-war guitars with their [...]

Pictured left to right are Lawrence Fishman, Chris Martin and producer Bill VornDick Martin Guitars has long been about fusing tradition with innovation. The Pennsylvania guitar maker continues this mission with their new Retro series, which the company unveiled Thursday at NAMM. The new series – which includes the D-18E Retro, D-45E Retro, HD-28E Retro, [...]

We’re back with another great “On My Deathbed” contest presented by Martin Guitars, and this one is extra special. A few months ago we broke the news about Jeff Tweedy’s custom Martin Guitar, (read more here), and now we’re happy to offer you the chance to win one. Click the button below and tell us [...]

New York City-based singer-songwriter L.P., whose breakout smash “Into The Wild” found its way onto a Citi commercial during the past year, made her Bonnaroo debut in 2012. We spoke with the ukelele-playing singer about becoming the first female Martin Guitar ambassador, and writing a song about Bonnaroo.

Enter our May/June On My Deathbed Contest! Tell us the ten albums you couldn’t live or die without, and you’ll be eligible to win a Martin D-28 Guitar. Selected entries will be reprinted in our July/August 2012 issue. To enter, simply click the button above, then enter your top 10 list and email address. Deadline: [...]