• Martha Wainwright Prepares Third Album

  Spinner.com - Found Nov. 18, 2009 Filed under: News Singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright has begun making tentative steps to writing and recording her third album andsays she

• Annie Lennox Receives 2009 Woman of Peace Award

  ShoppingBlog.com - Found Nov. 15, 2009 KT Tunstall, Shakira, Beth Orton, Sarah McLachlan, Anastacia, the Sugababes, KD Lang, Martha Wainwright, Angelique Kidjo, Beverley Knight...

• Martha Wainwright at the Barbican

  Times Online - Found Nov. 12, 2009 Martha Wainwright has breathed fresh life into the songs of Edith Piaf in a bold and fearless presentation that has taken both her and her audience

• Robbie joins Take That on stage

  BBC - Found Nov. 12, 2009 Earlier on this week, it was announced that the X Factor judge would sing Martha Wainwright's lines from the Snow Patrol song Set The Fire To... Stars set for charitable concert - BBC Stars set for charitable concert - BBC Chasing stars - BBC Robbie on babies and Jedward! - ITV.com Explore All

  Daily Express

• Cole plans duet with Snow Patrol

  BBC - Found Nov. 11, 2009 The X Factor judge will sing Martha Wainwright's lines from the Snow Patrol song Set The Fire To The Third Bar at the Royal Albert Hall on... Cole plans duet with Snow Patrol - BBC Take That & Robbie For Albert Hall Gig - MTV UK Snow Patrol To Duet With Cheryl Cole At Children In Need Gig ... - Gigwise Robbie Williams 'Won't Perform With Take That In London Tomorrow' - Gigwise Explore All

  Telegraph

• Martha Wainwright sings Piaf

  Telegraph - Found Nov. 10, 2009 Martha Wainwright might not look like the obvious choice to cover fragile French great Edith Piaf, but it?s a role she was born to play.

• Snow Patrol to Duet With Cheryl Cole at BBC Charity Gig

  Spinner.com - Found Nov. 10, 2009 ... be performing 'Set the Fire to the Third Bar,' a 2006 track originally recorded with Martha Wainwright . No Ms Wainwright on show at London...

• Martha Wainwright does Piaf proud

  Metro.co.uk - Found Nov. 8, 2009 Despite confessing to a lifelong musical crush on Piaf, Martha Wainwright puts her own anguished vocal stamp on this 15-track collection... Rock and Pop - Martha Wainwright - Sunday Tribune Ireland Last Night: Seattle Laps Up Rufus Wainwright's Flirtatious, ... - Seattle Weekly Martha meets Edith at the Barbican - East London Advertiser Explore All

  Seattle Weekly

• Martha Wainwright and the ghost of Edith Piaf

  Times Online - Found Nov. 7, 2009 From The Times October 30, 2009 Martha Wainwright: 'Edith Piaf became the ghost behind all that I sang' Martha Wainwright explains her passion...

• Martha Wainwright's song and dance

  Times Online - Found Oct. 30, 2009 Clinging to the barre in a rehearsal room at the Royal Opera House, Martha Wainwright looks down at her feet in astonishment.

Martha Wainwright
Performing at SXSW 2008 In Austin, Texas
Background information
Born	May 8, 1976 (1976-05-08) (age 33)
Origin	Montreal
Genres	Contemporary singer/songwriter
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Website	Official website

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

Early musical development

In 1998, Wainwright took the first step toward her musical career, through the recording of her song "Year of the Dragon" as a contribution to The McGarrigle Hour, an album released by her mother, Kate, and her aunt, Anna McGarrigle. Shortly after this recording, Martha began singing backup vocals for her brother, Rufus. Although her musical beginnings and early recording opportunities were made possible through her already established parents and brother, she soon distinguished herself from her family and created her own musical identity.

Following her incomplete studies in drama 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 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.

Style and genre

Wainwright's style has been described as a meld of folk, rock, country, and chanson singing. She drew inspiration from Leonard Cohen, to whom she paid tribute at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 24, 2006, singing Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel". She performed "Tower of Song" and "The Traitor" at the Cohen tribute concert which became the film and album Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.

Performance and media attention

Since the release of her album, I Know You're Married..., Wainwright has been touring extensively throughout Europe, Canada, the United States and Australia. She has received positive reviews; Tricia Summers, of Spin.com, describes Wainwright's stage presence, of July 23/08, 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.¹ 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.

She married her producer Brad Albetta in September 2007.

Annie Lennox joined with Wainwright and 22 other 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.

Discography

• Martha Wainwright (2005)
• I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too (2008)
• Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, à Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record (2009)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Martha Wainwright

• Official site
• I Know You're Married... Album sampler page
• Martha Wainwright interview at musicOMH.com
• [1]
• [2]
• “The Guardian profile: The Wainwrights” by Richard Jinman of The Guardian. (2005-04-15)
• Audience recording of Martha at Shepherds Bush Empire
• Martha Wainwright returns to sing Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins 31 January - 21 February 2009
• Martha Wainwright Live Performance/Interview on The Highway Girl 2008