About Martine
Australian singer/songwriter Martine Locke has never worked a 9 to 5 job. She has never worn a skirt to work. She has never had straight hair. She has never played the tuba.
She has had only one dream her entire life.
To play music.
Put driving acoustic rhythms together with alternate tunings, a powerhouse voice, intelligent stage banter and intimate life stories that will leave you wiping the tears from laughter one minute and pondering the next. Combine that with the delicate harmonies and passionate percussiveness of Dionne Ward and you almost have described an evening with Martine Locke. (Let it be known that one needs to be in the room to truly experience this, as no words will do it justice.)
Martine Locke spent the first part of her life on the run from the police. Her father, wanted by the Sydney police, became the living, breathing embodiment of Australian convict history when he gathered up his family and evaded jail time by hiding in the Australian outback. Some would say that it was this formative experience that prepared Martine for the life of an itinerant musician. Traveling the world in search of stories and tales to tell, expressing them through her songs and indeed through her stories….and perhaps, occasionally, running from the law (although, at least one of those things is not true). Music, performance and creativity is all Martine has ever known and she passionately lives, breathes and tackles all of life’s concerns through the heart of a creative soul.
Self-releasing 3 solo CDs (Fly, On The Verge and Undone) and 4 CDs with her Australian duo, The Velvet Janes (Live, Opus No.3, Venus Calling & THE Ep), has shown Martine to be an astute and capable business woman in an industry that traditionally lacks integrity. Passionate about her independence, Martine has continued to book/manage/promote/produce and perform over 150 shows a year in three countries. She has toured as opening artist for acts such as Ani DiFranco, The Cowboy Junkies, Tommy Emmanuel, Arlo Guthrie, and Australian favorites Weddings, Parties, Anything and The Waifs, and has managed to realize her desire to develop more house concerts all across the US & Australia.
In 2009 Martine was joined onstage full time by percussionist/vocalist Dionne Ward. Dionne, an established musician in her own right, provides a percussive back drop to the songs and a lilting harmony to the tunes that will have your feet tapping and goose bumps rising up across your body all at once. Together they present a show filled with laughter, stories, hearty tunes and a personable interaction that will leave you feeling like you know them. Performing at festivals, schools and house concerts across the country takes them from one side of the US to the other and proves that the independent spirit is alive, well and thriving in an economy that would otherwise seek to discourage them.
This duo brings a rambunctious, spirited, dynamic performance each time they perform and as columnist Lucky Clark wisely wrote once ‘…they will aim for your heart, as well as your feet’.
