Amber Martin

I first met Amber Martin when I was living in Portland, Oregon and she was one of the leaders of the renegade performance artist group House of C##T. Their shows where shocking, hilarious, sharp, brave, and full of giddy creativity. She and I recently collaborated on a piece for Jacob’s Pillow’s gala that showcased her booming, silky-smooth pipes and intense depth of character. She’s just one of those people who continues to inspire. Through thick and thin she remains a true original and one of my favorite humans.

These days you can find her touring with John Cameron Mitchell’s Origin of Love Tour

“The pitch-perfect, multi-talented Martin seamlessly floats between multiple costumes, personae and skits, never once leaving the stage, and carrying the calm of a seasoned performer” – The New York Times

“Like watching Ruth Draper after she’s come back from an acid trip during which she thought she was Janis Joplin” – Willamette Week

Amber Martin is a celebrated NYC Vocalist, Downtown Performing Artist and Comedic Monologist. Greatly inspired onstage in the traditions of Janis Joplin, Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett and Dolly Parton to name a few. Amber has been named one of the Top Performers of the Year by The New Yorker. Onstage, Amber is a powerful vocalist with a deep love for all genres of classic American pop music, which also inspires her own original songs. Martin brings a combination of cabaret, belting vocals, comedy and first-hand true stories to her live, raw, genre-hopping musical performances, casting light on Amber’s uniqueness and bringing a diverse range of entertainment to her equally diverse audiences.

Amber performed her one woman show, Janis:Undead to sold out audiences at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2019 and returns in 2021 to be one of the few international artists invited back this year, performing her Broadway World nominated solo show, Bathhouse Bette. Ms. Martin has since made her Sydney Opera House debut, appearing as special guest in John Cameron Mitchell’s Origin of Love Tour. She performed with John in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Seoul, Mexico City, and all over the US. Amber is thrilled to join John on more US, European & Japan Tours as well in 2021! She previously made her Broadway debut in Tales of the City at The Music Box Theater. Some of her performance projects include appearing as Joan Rivers guest on Celebrity Apprentice and opening for Joan’s live NYC shows. You can hear her belting out featured vocals on The Scissor Sisters single “Inevitable” (co-produced with Pharrell). Ms. Martin appeared with pop stars, Jake Shears & Kylie Minogue at Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Benefit. She was a featured vocalist with comedian, Sandra Bernhard at Town Hall in New York City and has twice been a featured guest on Sandra’s Sirius XM radio show, Sandyland. She has been musical collaborator for couture fashion designer, Rachel Comey’s NYC Fashion Week show. She was a featured onstage vocalist with Pink Martini at Forest Hills Stadium. Amber has performed solo residencies in New Orleans at The Allways Lounge as well as at NYC’s Club Cumming, Town Hall, Joe’s Pub, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Irving Plaza, La Mama, Boom Boom Room, Wild Project, Abrons Art Center and The Cutting Room. Amber has been a solo artist at The TBA Festival in Portland OR, Treefort Festival in Boise ID, Outsider Festival in Austin TX, Jazz and Blues Festival in Altomonte Italy.

A celebrated veteran of the stage, Amber continues to evolve as writer, curator, choreographer and star of her own live and video performances, Bathhouse Bette (Nominated by Broadway World for Best Cabaret), The Days of My Lives (Artist Residency at Joe’s Pub, NYC), Hi! (Best Solo Performance Drammy Award), Wigshop, Stoned Soul: In Love with Laura Nyro (Residency at Feinstein’s/54 Below) and Janis:Undead (U.S. tour). She tours her own original album, A.M. Gold, including songs featured in John Cameron Mitchell’s film, How To Talk To Girls At Parties. During quarantine, Amber created her virtual live series, Ambyoke (nominated for a NYC Glam Award) with special guests, Patti Lupone, Rufus Wainright, Sandra Bernhard, John Cameron Mitchell, Joyce Dewitt and Jake Shears. She is currently writing her new album, as well as collaborating with Jake Shears & John Cameron Mitchell & planning her solo tour of Australia in June, 2021.

“A torrent of sound… power and mad energy”- The Advertiser, Australia

“The audience knew from the get go that they had struck gold” – Limelight Magazine

“Big, moving Bessie Smith-like sound”

“chill-inducing”

“A powerful woman whose heightened sense of the ridiculous goes head to head with her distinctly American voice”

“Her fullness of voice and spot-on characterizations put the show in another dimension.” – The New Yorker

“I haven’t laughed like that in I don’t know when. Amber is the real deal, a fucking scream, like I Love Lucy on acid beyond the pale! I think she is brilliant!” – Sandra Bernhard

“A chameleonic performer with a mind-blowing voice, Amber Martin dissolves completely into her original characters (and a spot-on Reba McEntire)”

“Martin’s blend of brash (sometimes bizarre) comedy and beautiful music fit perfectly in her tough-yet-sentimental adopted home, New York City—and has earned her a devoted following.” – Time Out New York