Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a
Canadian-American
Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship.
The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadia ...
singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums.
Wainwright is the daughter of musicians
and
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...
and the younger sister of singer–composer
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...
.
Martha Wainwright's live performances have received critical praise, with ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' writing that her concerts "leave in no doubt that she is a singular star." Apart from music, she has appeared in several film projects, including
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
’s ''
The Aviator'' and the
HBO miniseries ''
Olive Kitteridge'' alongside
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and producer. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emm ...
. Wainwright owns and operates Ursa, a café, concert-hall, bar, and recording space in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
.
Early life
Martha was born in New York City on May 8, 1976, to folk musicians
and
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...
. She moved to Montreal with her mother and brother when she was one year old, and was raised in Montreal in a musical family. She is
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...
's sister and they frequently perform together and collaborate on each other’s albums. Martha is also half-sister to
Lucy Wainwright Roche
Lucy Wainwright Roche (born December 16, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Preceded by two EPs, ''8 Songs'' and ''8 More'', Roche released her debut album, ''Lucy'' in October 2010. In 2013, she starred as Jeri in the ''Stuff You Should Kno ...
, with whom she collaborated on the album ''
Songs In The Dark'', which was nominated for a
Juno Award.
Career
Debut EPs and ''Martha Wainwright''
Martha Wainwright's first release was an album-length independent cassette of ten tracks, ''Ground Floor,'' released in 1997. Wainwright released two EPs in 2005—''
Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole'' and ''
I Will Internalize ''I Will Internalize'' is a 2005 extended play, EP by Martha Wainwright. Released only in Canada, the EP collects several tracks from the EPs that Wainwright released prior to her full-length debut, ''Martha Wainwright (album), Martha Wainwright''. ...
''—both of which contained some tracks that also appeared on her self-titled studio album, ''
Martha Wainwright''.
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
called the ''Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole'' EP "a rebellious introductory stance for an artist looking to provoke or silence potential critics." ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' included the song "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" in their songs of the year and ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' called it "a blistering prelude to her debut album." "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" was inspired by Wainwright's father,
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...
. She wrote the track as a response to her father's way of writing songs about his family, rather than tending to them. Despite the sentiment, she collaborated a year earlier with Loudon on the song "You Never Phone" on his 2003 album ''
So Damn Happy''.
"Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" was used at the end of the second episode in season three of the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
original series ''
Orange is the New Black'', and at the end of the fourth episode in season one of the
HBO original series ''
Big Little Lies''.
Wainwright's self-titled debut album was released through
Zoë Records
Zoë Records is an independent record label that is a part of the Rounder Records group. Zoë predominantly distributes albums by folk rock and alternative pop artists. Artists who have released albums on the label include Mary Chapin Carpenter ...
and
Drowned in Sound in April 2005, and earned Wainwright a nomination for New Artist of the Year at the 2006
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
. The album also reached number 43 on ''Billboard''s Top Heatseekers chart.
Her debut album featured contributions from her mother,
, her brother,
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...
, her cousin, Lily Lanken, as well as organ and saxophone from
Garth Hudson
Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...
of
The Band.
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
wrote that the album "proves Martha Wainwright has a strong, distinct, fully formed musical identity, which would be just as impressive by any other name."
In 2006, Wainwright collaborated with
Snow Patrol on their song "
Set the Fire to the Third Bar
"Set the Fire to the Third Bar" is a song from Snow Patrol's fourth album, '' Eyes Open'', featuring Martha Wainwright on vocals. The song was released as a single on 13 November 2006.
Background
The song was the last track to be recorded ...
," off their critically and commercially successful album ''
Eyes Open''. Frontman
Gary Lightbody
Gareth John Lightbody (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The ...
says that he wrote the song with Wainwright's vocals specifically in mind. Alvin Chan from ''musicOMH'' raved that "Lightbody's vocals are perfectly complemented by Canadian songstress Martha Wainwright, whose arrestingly haunting voice is put to good use."
''I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too''
Wainwright's second album, ''
I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too'', was released through
Zoë Records
Zoë Records is an independent record label that is a part of the Rounder Records group. Zoë predominantly distributes albums by folk rock and alternative pop artists. Artists who have released albums on the label include Mary Chapin Carpenter ...
and
Drowned in Sound in June 2008, resulting in the No. 10 position on the Top Heatseekers ''Billboard'' charts and No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Canada Music Charts, among other chart positions throughout Europe and Australia. The album was hailed for showcasing Wainwright's musical maturity and talent as a songwriter, and was a Long List Nominee for the 2009
Polaris Music Prize
The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was incr ...
. The album features 12 original tracks and
cover versions
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
's ''
See Emily Play
"See Emily Play" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single in June 1967. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of the U.S. edition of ...
'' and, as a bonus track in some countries, the
Eurythmics' ''
Love Is a Stranger
"Love Is a Stranger" is a song by the British pop duo Eurythmics. Originally released in late 1982, the single was commercially unsuccessful, but it was re-released in 1983, reaching the UK top 10. The single was re-released again in 1991, to pro ...
''. The Australian release included a limited edition
digipak
Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage.
Jewel case
...
with additional images and the bonus track. "Comin' Tonight" was released as an
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
exclusive download in Australia in April 2008.
In addition to returning collaborators Anna McGarrigle, Kate McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright, and
Garth Hudson
Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...
,
Donald Fagen of
Steely Dan contributed synthesizers on "So Many Friends," and
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
played electric guitar on "You Cheated Me" and "Comin' Tonight."
''Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, à Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record''
''
Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, à Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record'', a tribute to legendary French singer
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars.
Pia ...
, was released in November 2009. An homage to Piaf, it was received with glowing reviews, leaving audiences "stunned" by Wainwright's "incredible range and talent". The album was recorded during three performances in New York's
Dixon Place Theatre in June 2009. The accompanying DVD was filmed by
Jamie Catto
James David Catto (born 14 August 1968 in London, England) is a British musician, video director, photographer, and script editor. He was a founding member of Faithless, before leaving in 1999 to form 1 Giant Leap.
Career Faithless
Educated a ...
. The name of the album comes from the lyrics to Piaf’s song "Les Grognards."
''Come Home to Mama''
''
Come Home To Mama'' was released on October 15, 2012. The album was recorded at
Sean Lennon
is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The ...
's home studio in New York City and produced by
Cibo Matto
Cibo Matto (, Italian for "crazy food") was an American alternative rock band formed by Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in New York City in 1994. Initially, the band's lyrics were primarily concerned with food, before expanding into broader subject ...
’s
Yuka Honda
Yuka Honda is a Japanese-American musician who resides in New York City. She is a multi-instrumentalist (mainly piano, synthesizer, sampler and other keyboards), composer, record producer, and co-founder of the band Cibo Matto. Throughout her ...
. Guest musicians on the album included Honda, Lennon,
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...
guitarist Nels Cline, and
Dirty Three
Dirty Three is an Australian instrumental rock band, consisting of Warren Ellis (violin and bass guitar), Mick Turner (electric and bass guitars) and Jim White (drums), which formed in 1992. Their 1996 album '' Horse Stories'' was voted by '' ...
drummer
Jim White. "Proserpina", the album's first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, was written by Wainwright's mother,
, who died in 2010. Produced by Cibo Matto’s Yuka Honda, it was heralded by
Mojo Magazine
''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...
as a "substantial and brilliantly sung career best." The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Canada Music Charts and #21 US Top Heatseekers ''Billboard'' charts.
The song "Four Black Sheep" was originally recorded in 2009 for
CBC Radio 2's ''
Great Canadian Song Quest ''Great Canadian Song Quest'' is a Canadian songwriting contest, presented by CBC Music. The competition has been presented in three editions to date, in 2009, 2010 and 2013.
2009 edition
For the inaugural installation of Great Canadian Song Quest ...
''.
''Trauma''
In 2013, she recorded the soundtrack album for the fourth season of the television drama series ''
Trauma
Trauma most often refers to:
* Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
* Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic i ...
.'' For the soundtrack project, Wainwright selected songs drawn mainly from the Quebec musical repertoire. In addition to covers of
Offenbach,
Claude Dubois
Claude André Dubois (born 24 April 1947) is a Canadian singer-songwriter.
Dubois was an early star of the Francophone musical '' Starmania''. He was a vocalist in the Canadian famine relief song " Tears Are Not Enough" and was nominated Most ...
and
Daniel Bélanger
Daniel Bélanger (born December 26, 1961) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His music is eclectic, inspired by alternative rock, folk and electronic music, sometimes humorous, sometimes wistful.
Biography
In middle 1983, he founded the band Hu ...
, Wainwright re-recorded three of her own songs in French as well as one by
Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.
Music ...
.
''Songs in the Dark''
In 2015, Wainwright collaborated with her half-sister
Lucy Wainwright Roche
Lucy Wainwright Roche (born December 16, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Preceded by two EPs, ''8 Songs'' and ''8 More'', Roche released her debut album, ''Lucy'' in October 2010. In 2013, she starred as Jeri in the ''Stuff You Should Kno ...
on the album ''
Songs in the Dark''. Released under the name
The Wainwright Sisters
The Wainwright Sisters are a singer-songwriter duo featuring the Canadian-American Martha Wainwright and her American half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche. In November 2015 they released the album '' Songs in the Dark'', which includes a number of l ...
, the album featured a suite of lullabies that their mothers Kate McGarrigle and Suzzy Roche sang to them as children, in addition to songs by
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
,
Jimmie Rogers, and their father Loudon Wainwright III. Details of the album were announced in September 2015. The song "
El Condor Pasa" premiered on Speakeasy, a blog affiliated with ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', via
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
, on October 7, 2015. Andy Gill of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' gave the album four out of five stars and wrote, "if ever an album merited the epithet 'charming', this is it." The album was nominated for Traditional Roots Album of the Year at the 2016
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
.
''Goodnight City''
''
Goodnight City
''Goodnight City'' is an album by Martha Wainwright, released by the record labels Cadence Music and PIAS on November 11, 2016. The album was produced by Wainwright's husband, bassist Brad Albetta, and Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett. Guest contributo ...
'' was released in November 2016, and received notable praise from
Exclaim!,
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, and
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
, who called it "uplifting and powerful." Unlike previous albums, Martha Wainwright chose to co-write several of the songs on ''Goodnight City'' with friends and other notable songwriters, including
Beth Orton,
Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top te ...
,
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...
, and
Merrill Garbus
Tune-Yards (stylized as tUnE-yArDs) is the American, Oakland, California–based music project of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner. Garbus's music draws from an eclectic variety of sources and utilizes elements such as loop pedals, ukulele, voca ...
of
Tune-Yards
Tune-Yards (stylized as tUnE-yArDs) is the American, Oakland, California–based music project of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner. Garbus's music draws from an eclectic variety of sources and utilizes elements such as loop pedals, ukulele, voca ...
. Recorded in Montreal, ''Goodnight City'' was produced by
Thomas Bartlett, who previously worked with
Sufjan Stevens and
Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top te ...
. The album reached #41 on the ''Billboard'' Canadian Music charts.
In May 2020, Wainwright released "Wolves," a duet with Rufus Wainwright that was recorded during the sessions for ''Goodnight City''.
''Love Will Be Reborn''
In 2021, Wainwright released ''
Love Will Be Reborn'', which has been received as her best album since her self-titled debut.
''Love Will Be Reborn'' was made during the pandemic and recorded in Wainwright's hometown of Montreal, in the basement of her café-bar, Ursa, which also served as a studio. The songs on the album were largely influenced by her divorce from producer Brad Albetta. Wainwright began writing the album in 2017 after her separation from Albetta. Wainwright has described the album as "more on a broader perspective of themes of life and death, and time and trust and lack of trust, and parenthood and all of these things that sort of seem like a much bigger, broader, perspective and a deeper, more layered life."
The album features
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
musicians Thom Gill, Phil Melanson, Morgan Moore, and Josh Cole of
Bernice, and was produced by
Pierre Marchand
Pierre Marchand (born 1958) is a Canadian songwriter, musician and record producer.
Marchand is known for his ongoing collaboration with Sarah McLachlan, having produced all of her albums since '' Solace'' in 1991. He also co-wrote several of M ...
, who also produced several of Kate & Anna McGarrigle's albums. ''Love Will Be Reborn'' received universal acclaim upon its release.
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
wrote that, "''Love Will Be Reborn'' feels at once bigger and smaller than her previous material, with each quiet rumination leading her toward grander musings on love, grief, and motherhood.
" ''
American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
'' wrote that ''Love Will Be Reborn'' "could be considered Martha Wainwright’s tour de force, a de facto declaration of outrage and emotion shared with full intent and without hesitation," and hailed that "if artistry is the product of passion, then Wainwright has demonstrated yet again that she's capable of channeling it better than most."
Other projects
Martha Wainwright has contributed songs to various soundtracks and
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s, including ''
The Aviator'' (2004), ''
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man'' (2005), and ''
Song of America
MS ''Celestyal Olympia'' is a cruise ship owned by the Cyprus-based Celestyal Cruises, formerly Louis Cruise Lines. In April 2012 she was named ''Louis Olympia'' after operating as the Thomson Destiny for Thomson Cruises. She was built in 198 ...
'' (2007).
In 2009, Wainwright appeared on her father's album ''
High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project'', which won the 2010
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for
Best Traditional Folk Album.
Martha Wainwright participated in the 2015 edition of
Canada Reads
''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...
, advocating for
Jocelyne Saucier
Jocelyne Saucier (born May 27, 1948 in Clair, New Brunswick) is a Canadian novelist and journalist based in Quebec.
Career
Educated in political science at the Université Laval, Saucier worked as a journalist in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue regi ...
's novel ''And the Birds Rained Down''.
In 2020, she hosted the television series
''Mix sonore'', a bilingual production featuring Canadian musicians. The show was broadcast on the network
Unis TV
Unis is a Canadian French language specialty channel. The channel broadcasts general entertainment programming, with a particular focus on highlighting francophone communities outside Quebec.
The channel shares a broadcasting licence with its si ...
.
In 2019, Wainwright opened a café-bar in Montreal called Ursa on
Parc Avenue
Park Avenue (officially in french: Avenue du Parc) is one of central Montreal's major north-south streets. It derives its name from Mount Royal Park, by which it runs. Between Mount Royal Avenue and Pine Avenue, the street separates the eastern ...
. Several artists have performed at the venue since it opened, including
Patrick Watson,
La Force,
The Barr Brothers
The Barr Brothers is an indie folk band founded in Montreal, Quebec in 2006, consisting of two American brothers Andrew (drums, percussion, vocals, keyboards) and Brad Barr (guitar, vocals), as well as bassist Morgan Moore, pedal steel guitaris ...
, Rufus Wainwright, and Loudon Wainwright III. Her 2021 album, ''
Love Will Be Reborn'', was recorded at Ursa during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
During the pandemic, Wainwright was instrumental in boosting morale and hope in Montreal through a series of rooftop concerts. She spearheaded several balcony sing-alongs working alongside
POP Montreal
POP Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, most ...
, where Montrealers sang at night on their balconies to uniting community anthems, including
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
s "
So Long, Marianne
"So Long, Marianne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen. It was featured on his debut album, '' Songs of Leonard Cohen''. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 190 on their list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".
...
" and "I Lost My Baby" by
Jean Leloup
Jean Leclerc (born May 14, 1961) is a Québécois singer-songwriter and author from Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada. He is popularly known as Jean Leloup (which he likes to translate to John the Wolf), a stage name he kept using until 2006, when he ...
.
Wainwright released her memoirs in English: "Stories I Might Regret Telling You" and in French: "Rien de grave n’est encore arrivé" translated by Fanny Britt in the spring of 2022.
Personal life
Wainwright married her producer and musical collaborator Brad Albetta in September 2007. They divorced in 2018.
They have two sons, Arcangelo and Francis.
Discography
* ''
Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole'' (EP) (2005)
* ''
Martha Wainwright'' (2005)
* ''
I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too'' (2008)
* ''
Come Home to Mama'' (2012)
* ''
Trauma
Trauma most often refers to:
* Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
* Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic i ...
'' (2013)
* ''
Goodnight City
''Goodnight City'' is an album by Martha Wainwright, released by the record labels Cadence Music and PIAS on November 11, 2016. The album was produced by Wainwright's husband, bassist Brad Albetta, and Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett. Guest contributo ...
'' (2016)
* ''
Love Will Be Reborn'' (2021)
References
External links
*
*
*
Interview with Martha Wainwrightby ''The Poetry Extension''
Interview with Martha Wainwrighton
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
Q
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, Martha
1976 births
Living people
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
20th-century Canadian women singers
21st-century Canadian women singers
American women singer-songwriters
American women pop singers
American people of Dutch descent
Anglophone Quebec people
Bayard family
Canadian women pop singers
Canadian women singer-songwriters
Canadian singer-songwriters
Canadian people of Dutch descent
French-language singers of Canada
McGarrigle-Wainwright-Roche family
Rufus Wainwright
Singers from Montreal
Stuyvesant family
The Wainwright Sisters members
Zoë Records artists
Place of birth missing (living people)
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
American singer-songwriters
Women autobiographers