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gigs

Carrie Martin

Appearing in Manchester City Centre is the wonderfully talented singer-songwriter and guitarist Carrie Martin.

Thursday 20th March 2025

The Old Monkey in Manchester

7:30pm til 11:00pm (Performance starts 8:00pm)

Carrie Martin

Music Genres

Indie | Acoustic | Folk

About

Carrie Martin is a talented singer-songwriter who writes beautiful songs. A highly accomplished guitarist, she has a beautiful, rich voice.

Please read the Messenger News Trafford, newspaper article below.

By Sophie Hall

A musician who fronted three 90s bands is bringing a gig to city centre Manchester. A singer 'with a passion for guitar' is resuming her music career almost two decades after mothering her twin boys.

Originally from Hull, Carrie Martin is well known across the globe and has toured as far afield as Canada and California.

She is set to make a musical contribution to the Greater Manchester area, with her upcoming tour bringing her to city centre Manchester.

She said she had “cast her music aside to raise her children” and it was a chance meeting with guitarist and composer Gordon Giltrap that changed her life.

Close mentoring from Gordon saw her take a huge leap forward, attracting endorsements from industry specialists Vintage Guitars, G7th Capos, Martin Strings, and Faith Guitars.

Before her break from the music scene, Carrie was perhaps best known for fronting three cover bands in the 90s - Foreign Affair, Extacy, and The Promise.

Carrie said: “This gig is an extraordinary one because the lady organizing it found my music during lockdown, she used to watch the livestreams I did every Saturday at 9 pm.”

Carrie and Sue Shepherd, known on Facebook as ‘Stretford Sue’, met in person after Sue turned up to watch Carrie in concert at the Greystones in Sheffield last year.

Carrie said: “I find it unbelievable that she is so determined to bring my music to her area of the UK as she is not a promotor, she’s a fan!”

Sue, who attended BIMM University in Manchester for Event Management, explains how she did not get to finish her degree due to the struggles of COVID-19.

She said: “When finding Carrie, I thought I must promote her in any way I can and get to see her live."

Sue is now the promotor for Carrie’s upcoming event.

Sue said: “I found her a perfect venue, The Old Monkey pub in Manchester city centre, I think it’s perfect for her, it’s a lovely place."

This gig will not be Carrie's first since her break, however. In May last year, Carrie played at The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, alongside Gordon, Oliver Wakeman, and “the mighty” Rick Wakeman, who described Carrie as “phenomenal”.

Carrie has since released a new album, Evergreen, which features Oliver Wakeman, Heart’s guitarist Roger Fisher, John Verity, and Dan Karl Cassidy.

Gordon said he has “watched Carrie Martin’s musical gift grow with each consecutive album. Her new album Evergreen is in my opinion, the pinnacle of her songwriting abilities”.

The gig will be taking place on Thursday 20th March 2025 at

The Old Monkey

90 Portland Street

Manchester

M1 4GX

Doors open at 7 pm and tickets can be purchased on Skiddle.

About Carrie

It’s pretty obvious from the moment you hear Carrie Martin sing that she is an outstanding vocalist with passion in each breath. Don’t be too sidetracked by that voice and stage persona and well-crafted songs, because you might just miss the fact that she is a fine guitar player as well!

Carrie is a true born and bred Yorkshire lass, born in Hull. She first picked up a guitar at the age of four and made her first public performance at the tender age of nine, playing at a school concert.

She later played clubs alongside her father, who worked the circuit as a guitarist and vocalist.

In her teens, she made a name for herself locally, with her songs played on local radio and performing live. By the end of her teens, she changed tack, inspired by the Bangles, Transvision Vamp, and Ann Wilson from Heart, dropping the guitar in favour of a ‘rock chick’ makeover and fronting bands as a singer.

Her first band was named Foreign Affair, which may well be one of the most ‘eighties’ names for a band ever conceived!

After marrying she had twin boys and abandoned the guitar in the loft, where it gathered dust for two decades.

In 2011 came the real turning point when she attended a Gordon Giltrap concert only to be invited to step in as a support act when the opening act backed out. Encouraged enormously by Gordon, she played and sang a short set of cover versions, and even accompanied him at one point.

From this, and with Gordon’s support, she began to rebuild her musical career.

She quite soon put out her first release, a seven-track EP entitled Luna, which gathered some favourable attention. When she sent a copy to Gordon, he responded with amazement at the quality of her songwriting, saying that he had no idea she was such a strong writer as well as performer.

It was at this point that he stepped in to become her chief mentor and an extremely close friend, and she puts a great deal of the success she has had down to his friendship and unflagging support.

What If

2014, she finally put out her first full album ‘proper’, entitled “What If”, on which she was joined as guest musicians by not only Gordon but also Oliver Wakeman (son of Rick) and Ric Sanders from Fairport Convention.

Carrie was also picking up attention from her endorsement connections with Vintage / JHS guitars, her instrument of choice for some years and a source of constant support. She has also become the proud owner of a beautiful Fylde guitar, crafted by the great guitar maker Roger Bucknall.

Seductive Sky was her next release in 2018.

This time the sound was much richer, with a full band treatment on several of its tracks.

Once again there were guest players, Gordon Giltrap MBE, Oliver Wakeman, and Elliott Randall.

The album demonstrates a quantum leap in terms of the subtlety and craftsmanship of her songwriting, both musically and lyrically.

She then got the chance to represent Vintage Guitars at the Namm Show in California showcasing her use of open tunings and partial capos.

Entity

followed Seductive Sky in 2020. Recorded partly by Mikey Scott, Carrie’s son Ben, having only just finished his degree in sound engineering, stepped up to finish recording the last bits of the album after the pandemic took hold.

Mixed and mastered by Wayne Proctor of ‘House of Tone’ it once again saw Oliver Wakeman and Gordon Giltrap guesting with the addition of ex-Bad Company guitarist Dave Colwell on two of the tracks.

Evergreen

Evergreen followed three years later and managed to be Carrie’s most eclectic and varied collection yet, featuring tracks ranging from the delicate folk of ‘Lost In The Right Time’, through the soul-blues of ‘Deep Blue Heaven’ and the poppier ‘Girl With A Feather’, all the way to the prog-rock influences displayed on the ambitious eight-minute ‘Keep In The Light’.

Carrie's live performances are a delight. She takes her audience on a musical journey of songs and stories, giving them insight into how the songs she has written came into being.

Please note: The event information above has been added by the organiser. Whilst we try to ensure all details are up-to-date we do not make any warranty or representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information shown.

Nearby Accommodation

Venue Address

90/92 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 4GX

Venue Rating

4.5 / 5 based on 112 reviews

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