An Evening with Martha Redbone

ArtYard and the Frenchtown Bookshop are excited to announce that Martha Redbone, whose music combines “Native American elements with funk and deep roots in Appalachian folk and Piedmont blues,” will be bringing her “Roots Project” band to Frenchtown for a performance at 7 PM on Saturday, October 7 at ArtYard’s McDonnell Theater. At the start of the concert, she will offer a presentation and Q&A on the Indigenous roots of her music.

Martha Redbone has been described as “a charismatic indie-soul diva” (Time Out NY) for her soaring performances that pay passionate homage to her Cherokee, Choctaw, Shawnee, and African American roots. In her words, her goal is to honor “the music of my mother’s childhood and my grandmother’s childhood,” as well as the music of her gospel-singing African-American father and their community in rural Harlan County, Kentucky.

“Poised to be Americana’s next superstar” (Village Voice), Redbone daringly fuses her Native American heritage with blues, funk and mountain music to create a wholly unique musical vibe. She explains that, “It’s not straight-up bluegrass, not total folk, and not blues. It’s a mixture, all these different styles of music. This is roots music.” That mixture has brought her Roots Project band around the world, including the California WorldFest, Vancouver Folk Festival, and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Redbone also is committed to promoting the culture of Native Americans, including teaching Native American music to children, delivering speeches about indigenous rights, and holding workshops for children living on reservations. At the start of the concert, she will speak and answer questions about the indigenous roots of her music.

Tickets are $35 and doors open a half hour before the performance starts. Please visit our FAQ page for McDonnell Theater policies.

This engagement is made possible in part through the Mid Atlantic Tours program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition, it is supported in part by a grant from the Western Arts Alliance Advancing Indigenous Performance Touring Fund and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.