MARTIN TO HEADLINE FALL ARTIST SERIES ON NOVEMBER 19

Nashville. Tenn.-based songwriter and artist Josh Martin will headline the Fall Artist Series at 8 p.m., Thursday, November 19 in the Gearheart Auditorium on the Prestonsburg campus of Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC).

The series, sponsored by the BSCTC Fine Arts department and the Mountain Arts Center, will feature Brittany Taylor on Tuesday, November 24 and conclude with the. Prestonsburg Songwriters Series on Thursday, December 3.

This is an opportunity to not only hear some great music, but to learn and better understand the craft of song writing, said Clayton Case, director of Fine Arts at BSCTC. We are thrilled to have the caliber of artists and writers on our stage.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the Mountain Arts Center, online at www.macarts.com or by phone at 1-888-MAC-ARTS. All funds raised by the events will go to the BSCTC Big Sandy Singers Scholarship Fund.

With a mastery of the guitar, proficiency in a variety of instruments, and a deep, soulful southern voice, Martin is an extremely talented singer/songwriter/musician from Floyd County, who is fresh on the Nashville scene and ready to make waves in country music.

Martin always had an ear for music, growing up singing traditional gospel songs in church with his family and learning to play guitar at the tender age of 10. He started his career leading a traveling bluegrass band as a senior at Allen Central High School, and later became the lead singer and guitarist for the band "Fast Lane." Their rendition of "Tina at the Teardrop Inn" became a local favorite and paved the way for a tour all across the eastern United States. In his travels, Martin has had the opportunity to perform with bluegrass greats such as Doyle Lawson, Mountain Heart, Ralph Stanley and many others.

Though Martin would always love bluegrass, he eventually began listening to modern country music, developing not only an appreciation for the genre, but his own voice. It didn't take him long to pack his bags and sojourn to the heart of country music, Nashville, Tenn., where his music career has begun taking off.

In January 2015, after a years worth of hard work in the studio with producer and fellow Eastern Kentuckian Kory Caudill, Martin released his debut EP, Sounds Like a Song EP. Featuring songs co-written with No. 1 songwriters Kent Blazy and Cory Batten, Martin drives home his beliefs in the power of love, always remembering where you came from, and keeping watch on what lies on the road ahead. This EP is a well-crafted blend of good old-fashioned country and catchy, guitar-driven pop melodies.

Martin describes himself as a lifelong student and that the only time he'll stop learning is "the day they put [him] in the ground."

For more information on the Fall Concert Series, contact Clayton Case at (606) 886-7388 or email ccase0005@kctcs.edu.