JESS MARTIN

A queer folk-punk artist blending haunting melodies, poetic fire, and theatrical grit to explore identity, myth, and transformation.

The Projects

nevermore every quiet night headless.jpg

Every Quiet Night: Listen here

Nevermore: Listen here

Headless: Listen here

Experience Jess’s new singles, each inspired by literary classics. Features musicians: Anders Griffen, Abby Hanna, Mara Levi, James Robinson, Carolyn Walker, Laurie Walker, poetry by Karolina Zapal, and engineered by Joe Fitzpatrick.

Nevermore is featured in Ravens Quoth Press, Evermore 4, pub date: Oct 2024

Echoes of Nature: Hampshire County

A collaborative project by Jess Martin & Kim Hoff that explores the landscapes of Hampshire County through poetry and music. This project focuses on six distinct natural locations across six towns, with the goal of creating a series of performances that inspire environmental stewardship & foster inclusive, welcoming spaces.

Read more about the project in the Hampshire Gazette: ‘The way we found solace in nature’: Performances of poetry and music inspired by local hikes next weekend in Easthampton

Shadow, Sound, Spectacle

Our performances are a journey into the boundless world of creativity, where every show is a new opportunity to reinvent, reimagine, and captivate audiences. We offer both in-person and video puppetry installations, allowing us to connect with audiences in various formats and settings.

Read about us at Mass Live: Shadow, Sound, Spectacle brings "Literary Monsters" to Holyoke

Performance & Song Share Evenings

In addition to all this, Jess performs as a solo artist at venues in New England.

Every second Thursday of the month, Jess hosts a Song Share evening for women & non-binary singer songwriters at Drawing Board Brewing in Florence, MA.

Curated for You

View Gallery: high res photos

Photos by Ben Barnhart, www.bbimages.com

Jess Martin:
Music for the Misfits, the Wild, and the Wonderfully Strange

Jess Martin is a queer singer-songwriter and performance artist based in Western Massachusetts, creating songs and performances that stir the soul and defy easy categorization. Blending gothic folk, punk energy, and literary fire, Jess crafts haunting, cinematic experiences rooted in identity, transformation, and queer myth-making.

Praised as “a punk rock Joan Baez” with “lyrics like Patti Smith meets David Bowie,” Jess invites listeners into a world of sound and spectacle—where melody meets metaphor, and where music becomes a tool for connection, resistance, and change.

Their artistry currently pulses through three boundary-pushing projects:

Solo/duo performances of original songs like Planet Earth and Misfit Moon Blues explore themes of queer longing, resilience, and cosmic wonder—delivered with raw vulnerability and electrifying presence.
Shadow, Sound, Spectacle (with puppeteer Amy West and musician Abby Hanna): A gothic-queer theatrical experience blending original music and visual storytelling. Touring now with Literary Monsters, the ensemble reimagines classic horror through a lens of ancestral memory, trans survival, and creative rebellion.
Echoes of Nature: Hampshire County (with poet Kim Hoff): A site-specific series of outdoor concerts and poetry walks that celebrate the land, amplify the voices of local ecosystems, and foster community through art and environmental storytelling.

Jess's roots in theater (including work with Queer Soup Theater and a Mass Cultural Council playwriting grant) deepen their narrative approach to music. A committed advocate for inclusive arts spaces, Jess also curates monthly Song Share Sessions for trans, nonbinary, and women singer-songwriters in Northampton, MA.

Recent appearances include Easthampton Porchfest, Northampton Pride, and The Parlor Room’s Back Porch Festival—and this is just the beginning. Jess is building a fiercely devoted following across New England. Want in? Join the mailing list to hear about upcoming shows, new releases, and ways to experience the next world of sound and spectacle in person.

Wistariahurst Museum, Holyoke; Ana Bandeira Chocolates, Northampton; Clapp Memorial Library, Belchertown; 2025 Providence Fringe Festival, Providence RI; Voicebox, Amherst College; Bangs Community Center, Amherst; Easthampton Porchfest 2024 & 2025; Brockton Brewery; Northampton Pride 2024, Northampton; The Puppet Showplace Theater, Brookline, MA; 2024 & 2025 Hilltown Draw-Around at The Art Garden at Shelburne Falls; The Parlor Room-Back Porch Festival 2024, Northampton; Ithaca Porchfest 2023, Ithaca, NY; Drawing Board Brewing Company, Florence, MA; Pioneer Valley Brewing, Turners Falls; New City Brewery, Easthampton; Great Awakening Brewing Company, Westfield; Luthier's Coop, Easthampton; Fort Hill Brewery, Easthampton; The Voo, Turners Falls; Lost Towns Brewery, Gilbertville; Easthampton Farmers' Market; Four Star Farms Brewery, Northfield; O's Music Bar (Original Songwriter Showcase), Sunderland; Schwemm's Pub, Amherst.