Martha Wainwright

All Music Guide:

Born in Montreal to parents of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright was engulfed in a sea of music from childbirth. Often singing or performing on-stage and in the studio at an early age, Wainwright became agitated at the thought of a musical career during high school. Shunning music, she decided to study drama at Montreal's Concordia University instead. Soon after starting her studies, however, Wainwright began composing her own material and performing in clubs and coffeehouses around Montreal. In 1997, she released her debut effort, a cassette entitled Ground Floor. She also began touring with her older brother Rufus Wainwright as a backing vocalist and musician. Moving from Montreal to New York, Wainwright took part in a stage musical called Largo. She also released a self-titled EP, as well as a four-song EP called Factory in 2002. In February 2005, Wainwright released another EP called Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole, followed by the eponymous Martha Wainwright (her full-length debut album) in April. Her second full-length effort, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, arrived in spring 2008. A year later, Wainwright released Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, a Paris, a 15-song collection of live Edith Piaf covers. In 2012, Wainwright returned with her third studio-album, Come Home to Mama. Recorded in Sean Lennon's home studio, the album was produced by Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda and featured such guest artists as Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and Dirty Three drummer Jim White.

Wikipedia:

Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle. She was raised in a musical family along with her older brother, Rufus Wainwright, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Early musical development[edit]

Wainwright released an independent cassette, Ground Floor, in 1997. The following year, her song "Year of the Dragon" appeared on The McGarrigle Hour, an album released by Kate and Anna McGarrigle. Shortly after this recording, Martha began singing backup vocals for her brother, and released the six-song EP Martha Wainwright in 1999.

Following her drama classes at Montreal's Concordia University, she moved to New York City, where she established herself as singer and songwriter. She made contacts within the industry, one of whom was producer Brad Albetta, who worked with Wainwright to produce her self-titled debut album, Martha Wainwright (released April 12, 2005, by MapleMusic Recordings).

Albetta worked again with Wainwright to produce her second album, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, released in Canada on June 10, 2008. Artists contributing to the album include Pete Townshend (The Who), Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), Garth Hudson (The Band), as well as her mother, brother and aunt.

Wainwright is signed with the independent record labels Rounder Records in the United States, DiS in the United Kingdom, MapleMusic Recordings in Canada, V2 Records in Europe and Shock Records in Australia.

She performed "Tower of Song" and "The Traitor" at the Leonard Cohen tribute concert which became the film and album Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.

Performance and media attention[edit]

In 2001, Wainwright recorded "Star Crossed Lovers" with Propellerheads for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease

Since the release of her album, I Know You're Married..., Wainwright toured in Europe, Canada, the United States and Australia. She has positive reviews; Tricia Summers, of Spin.com, describes Wainwright's stage presence, of July 23, 2008, as: "Slowly strumming her guitar and along on stage with a powerful voice, she knew she had the crowd wrapped around her finger."

Wainwright has received positive reviews for her performances. She appeared at the 2007 Bonnaroo and at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Inverness-shire in August 2007. She duetted with Snow Patrol at the V Festival and Lollapalooza, and performed with her brother at the Hollywood Bowl in September 2007.

Annie Lennox joined Wainwright and 22 female artists to raise awareness of the transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa. The single "Sing" was released on World AIDS Day on December 1, 2007, when Lennox appeared at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in South Africa.

She recorded the song "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" with Snow Patrol in 2006.

In May 2007 Martha Wainwright, her mother, Kate McGarrigle, and cousin Lily Lanken performed "Golden Hair" and "See Emily Play" at the Syd Barrett memorial concert at the Barbican Centre in London.

In 2010, Martha contributed background vocals on Hole's album Nobody's Daughter.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Personal life[edit]

She married her producer Brad Albetta in September 2007. They have a son, Arcangelo, born at University College Hospital, London on November 16, 2009.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).