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"Jess's gift for storytelling work in tandem with their evocative vocals on these three works {Haunted Singles: Nevermore, Headless, Every Quiet Night}. Though we've heard these tales before, Martin's layered and intimate approach to the material wholly transports the listener, enfolding us into the goosebump-inducing realm of ghosts."

in the media, in the world

Read

May 8 2025: The Reminder

"Shadow, Sound, Spectacle set to perform Literary Monsters"

Listen

May 1 2025: Valley Free Radio

"Literary Monsters visit the Town Crier!"

Watch

queer northampton: a smith college and forbes library project: Jess Martin

The Projects

Shadow, Sound, Spectacle

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Echoes of Nature: Hampshire County

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Haunted Singles Project:

Nevermore, Headless,

Every Quiet Night

Song Share Sessions, Haunting Melodies, Echoes in Nature & Shadow, Sound, Spectacle

STREAMING PLATFORMS

PANDORA

SPOTIFY

APPLE MUSIC

Coming Up Next

ABOUT JESS MARTIN

Queer Fire. Haunting Folk. Songs for the Wild and Unruly.

Jess Martin is a queer singer-songwriter and performance artist from Western Massachusetts, crafting music at the charged intersection of gothic folk, poetic punk, and theatrical storytelling. With a voice that stirs like a storm and lyrics that echo with myth, memory, and resistance, Jess has been called “a punk rock Joan Baez”—an artist lighting the way for misfits, dreamers, and fellow truth-tellers.

 

Their work spans three bold, touring projects:

  • Jess Martin (solo/duo): Lyrical, raw, and electric. With Spotify standouts like Planet Earth and Misfit Moon Blues, Jess channels queer longing and defiant joy through stripped-down sets that leave a lasting mark.

  • Shadow, Sound, Spectacle (with puppeteer Amy West and musician Abby Hanna): A genre-blurring theatrical collaboration, fusing live music, puppetry, and visual storytelling. Touring now with Literary Monsters, this queer, gothic spectacle reimagines classic horror through a lens of transformation, ancestry, and survival.

  • Echoes of Nature: Hampshire County (with poet Kim Hoff): A place-based, acoustic performance series blending original music, poetry, and visuals. Rooted in conservation and community, this queer/ecological project invites audiences to listen closely to land, memory, and myth.

 

Jess is also a committed activist working to build inclusive stages for trans, nonbinary, and women artists. Whether on a theater stage or deep in the woods, their performances invite you to feel more, question more, and come home to your wild self.

Nevermore: 2025 NPR Tiny Desk Contest submission
03:21
Nevermore
03:55
Bridge of No Returning
04:07
Bad Luck by Jess Martin
05:07
Nevermore | Crankie & Puppetry Music Installation
03:51
Bride of Frankenstein
03:17
Jess Martin performs at the February 1, 2024 New Music Alliance Open Stage Showcase
11:04
The Real Channel for Watching & Talking: Danger in the Deep, a conversation with the creative team
40:35

jessmartin.playsguitar@gmail.com

Based in Western Massachusetts

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