Closing Carnegie Hall’s 2015-2016 Mainstage Performance Season is a performance by American singer-songwriter and producer, Martin Sexton on his Mix Tape of the Open Road tour. The performance will be held Friday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hamilton Auditorium. Concert goers may enjoy food and beverage before the show in the Mainstage Lounge. The Lounge, hosted by Country Road Realty, will be open from 6:45-7:25 p.m. and will reopen at intermission. Tickets for the Lounge may be purchased for $5 in advance, or at the door.
Martin Sexton is well known for his amazing vocal range and style, often described as truly soulful, combining the best qualities of singers like Van Morrison, Al Green, Aaron Neville and Otis Redding. Sexton, a self-taught guitarist and singer, was raised in a family of 14 and formed his first rock & roll band in eighth grade. Sexton spent his high school years playing the music of the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. He left his home in Syracuse, NY – and the rock & roll life – in 1988 and headed for Boston, encouraged by what he’d heard about the coffeehouse scene in that city. Despite the ultra-competitive nature of the Boston scene, Sexton quickly rose through the ranks. He began playing his brand of soul-filled folk music around Boston’s open-mike nights and street corners in 1989.
In 1991, he released his own record, In the Journey, in cassette format. Much of his work, including Black Sheep, his 1996 debut for Eastern Front Records, was autobiographical in nature concerning his life on the road. Remarkably, Sexton sold 15,000 copies of his cassette-only album through the strength of his live shows and grueling tours around the U.S. In 1994, Sexton won the National Academy of Songwriters’ Artist of the Year Award. By 1996, Sexton was sharing stages with Art Garfunkel, Jackson Browne, and John Hiatt.
After signing with Atlantic Records Sexton released The American in 1998 and Wonder Bar in 2000. Shortly after the release of Wonder Bar, Sexton parted company with Atlantic Records and launched his own independent label, Kitchen Table Records, which allowed him greater freedom. Since that time he has continued to record and tour, building a sizable following through the States.
The year 2014 ended in tragedy for Sexton when his home in Saranac Lake in upstate New York was destroyed by a fire in late December. Having escaped unharmed Sexton found solace in his music and remained hard at work in the studio. His newest solo album, Mix Tape of the Open Road, was released in early 2015.
This record is a charm bracelet of twelve gems all strung together with the golden thread of what Rolling Stone calls his “soul marinated voice”. Performances on this tour feature tunes from new album along with all of your favorite Martin classics.
To purchase tickets to this show, call 304-645-7917 or visit www.carnegiehallwv.org. Ticket prices for this performance range from $17-35 with discounts available for members, seniors, students, and military.
Carnegie Hall’s 2015-16 arts programming is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
