Our friends over at Loose Records have announced the release of a new live album by Jeffrey Martin which arrives on 20th February 2026, which will be preceded by a string of UK and Ireland tour dates ahead of the album’s release. “Alive” follows on from 2023’s “Thank God We Left The Garden” which was given a 10/10 review by AUK’s Grame Tait.
“Alive” was recorded with just a few microphones on a packed night at Portland haunt The Showdown. What you will hear is exactly what happened that night, from start to finish – whatever mistakes may have occurred, whatever musical wanderings, all of it was included, in the hope that at least some of that live show magic could be captured in an honest way. The performance captures the full power of Martin’s live presence – complete with his storytelling, both in and between songs.
According to Martin: “The live show will always mean more to me than any studio recordings. Every night is different and will never exist again. The character of the room, the energy of the crowd, the moments between songs, wherever my mind and heart and voice are at– it all mixes together to create something new and ephemeral each night. I wanted to capture a single show, no edits, no reordering of songs, no compiling of takes from multiple shows. A record of a night in a documentary sense. I was so lucky to have Sam Weber join me on guitar. The best recordings are the ones where you forget you are recording, and Sam’s brilliant playing made me forget entirely.”
Martin has put out the previously unreleased ‘1519’ as the record’s lead single. He says: “it’s a song apart from all of my others. After reading Buddy Levy’s book Conquistador, I wanted to crawl inside the mind of Hernán Cortés. From his own letters he seemed blindly certain that his mission, no matter how brutal to the people he met in the Americas, was a righteous one. That with God and Spain on his side he was infallible. It made me wonder what we are blind to today that future historians might look back on in disbelief and disgust. ‘1519’ is an attempt to place myself on the boat, to stand next to Cortés, to feel him as a man instead of some unreachable, towering, historical figure.” You can join Martin on his journey to the centre of the Killer’s mind below.
The early 2026 tour dates are listed below and you can find tickets via this link.
Jeffrey Martin 2026 Tour Dates
Jan 20th – Brighton, The Hope & Ruin
Jan 21st – London, Bush Hall
Jan 22nd – Manchester, YES
Jan 23rd – Birmingham, The Sunflower Lounge
Jan 24th – York, The Bluebird Bakery
Jan 26th – Galway, Roisin Dubh
Jan 28th – Cork, Coughlans
Jan 29th – Dublin, Whelan’s
Jan 30th – Belfast, The Duncairn
Feb 1st – Glasgow, Tron Theatre
