User:Objectiveknowledge/Martin family band

The Martin Family Band is an internationally known folk music group from Maryland. The group began in 1995 and tours regularly across the United States and Europe.

Old time Appalachian music is a North American form of folk music which combines elements of European, African and Native American melodic and percussive techniques. In the early days of music recording, most of the music was captured in field recordings taken for musicology or anthropology studies. Later, with the advent of radio, more and more groups began to record "Old Time" music commercially. One popular type of group during this time period was the "family band."

The Martin Family Band has ancestral roots in the foothills of Southwestern Virginia. Many of their relatives, such as Ruby Vass (recorded by Alam Lomax and released by Rounder and Smithsonian Folkways), and Mrs. Martin (recorded by Herbert Halpert and available online in the Digital Library of Appalachia) were recorded on field recordings. The family now records commercially and professionally as well as for artistic enjoyment, and so represents the current cultural state of Old Time music. No longer an unknown rural phenonemon, Old Time music is now growing in popularity due to the success of bands such as The Martin Family Band keeping traditional music in the public eye.

Irish music is a strong early contributor to American Folk Music. The Martin Family Band has studied Irish music with living traditional masters and continues to play these tunes at ceilis (traditional Irish social dances) and in traditional pub sessions, both in the United States and in Ireland.

In the early American colonies, music was forming and clashing together. Some of the popular dance music is known as 18th Century Colonial Dance music. During the entire history of the Martin Family Band, they have been invited to play, and continue to make time in their professional schedule, to appear at George Washington's Mount Vernon for special historical events. At these events, the group performs music typical of the time period during which George Washington lived.

In 2009, the album "Ten Thousand Miles", by the Martin Family Band under Patuxent Records, was pre-nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional Album. (This round of nominatins includes 30 albums in the country).

The Martin Family Band is recognized by fans of traditional music in the United States and in Europe, and plays at similar venues to other folk groups such as Uncle Earl, Eden and John's East River String Band, and The Whitetop Mountain Band.

References: "Carrying on the Old Time Family Band Tradition" http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_ent.htm?StoryID=106284 Author: Lauren LaRocca for the Frederick News Post, Originally published June 17, 2010

Discography: "Ten Thousand Miles", 2009, Patuxent Records http://www.pxrec.com

External Links: http://www.themartinfamilyband.com http://www.digitallibraryofappalachia.com