As I proceeded to pull into a convenient parking space, a stone’s throw from the doors of the Town Hall, Kirton in Lindsey, home of Americana music in Lincolnshire, I noticed that the circus was in town. Now, I must admit it’s been a long time since I’ve been to the circus, probably as far back as the early 1970s, as a child. So long that, in truth, I was somewhat surprised to see it still exist as a touring operation, and I must confess to having little idea as to what the entertainment consists of these days. It’s true, all forms of entertainment have their period in the spotlight, a time when fashion and taste look favourably upon them before feeling the cold shoulder from future generations in search of the next new thing and the myriad of options that modern technology continues to offer. And of course that fate is not exclusive to the circus, with music just as susceptible to the fickle finger of fate; regardless of the quality of the performers on stage, promoters are finding it increasingly difficult to sell tickets and fill halls. Local promoter Brian Chudley has been more successful than most, thanks to well over a decade of hard work building the town hall up to becoming one of the ‘must-play venues’ in the country for both established acts as well as the next crop of aspiring singer-songwriters from around the globe. However, even he will concede that it’s been far from easy, and his tireless work is much appreciated by the local congregation.
This evening’s line-up sees two artists returning to a venue that has been instrumental in supporting them through the early part of their careers, with the opening act this evening being none other than the recent winner of the Americana UK Twang Factor competition, Maggie May Treanor, more of which later, while the headliner tonight saw Joe Martin returning to a stage on which he has performed numerous times over the last six or seven years. Earlier this year saw the release of Martin’s sophomore album Alone In Valentine, to widespread acclaim, including in these very pages. Recorded in September 2025, the album was co-produced by Cornelius Webb, son of the legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, and Cal Campbell, son of the equally legendary singer-guitarist Glen Campbell, and, along with a group of top-class session players, helped to take Martin’s songs and create a musical bridge between classic country and a sound more rooted in the flavour of Americana.
Despite the new album’s broad production, tonight’s show is strictly a solo performance, with Martin dressed in a blue shirt and jeans, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Kicking off the first of two sets with Hand Me Down Heart, the opening track from the new album, Martin immediately drew the evening’s audience in close with one of the finest songs he’s written today, and one of the best songs so far in 2026. Stripped back to just voice and guitar, the song lost none of its energy; Martin’s vocals, always out of the highest drawer, now reveal a greater sense of confidence and power in the delivery, while his underrated guitar playing, combining rhythm with subtle lead lines, helped to create a more intimate listening experience compared to the album version. That theme continued as Martin chronologically played his way through the first half of Alone in Valentine, with the infectious upbeat Checkmate closely followed by the achingly beautiful Strangers To Lovers, a co-write with Vinnie Paolizzi, whom he originally met in Nashville as one of several serendipitous meetings that would eventually lead to the recording of the new album. In between songs, and to fill the void whilst re-tuning his guitar, Martin would regale the audience with more tales of his time in Nashville and those chance encounters, one of which was with the award-winning filmmaker Steve Anderson, who had recently directed the music documentary 10 Year Town, which featured emerging Americana songwriters, including Paolizzi. Anderson would also go on to co-write the album’s title track with Martin, as well as shoot the accompanying video after the two made a three-day visit to the actual town of Valentino, Texas and its population of seventy-three. Tonight, Martin’s evocative narrative and reflective delivery transported the local congregation all the way across the ocean to that West Texas town, the sparse accompaniment helping to recreate the expansive landscape and the sense of isolation.
Another bona fide classic song from the new album Coal Town followed next, with its storyline evolving around the closed coal mines of Ohio, though in truth the essence of the narrative would work just as easily were it set in the lost mining town of Wales or the north of England. Again, it’s the combination of a descriptive narrative and a strong melody, skillfully brought together by a vocal delivery with just the right amount of reflective integrity, that ensures the song penetrates the senses so as to remain long after the evening’s performance has passed. It is surely a masterclass in evocative songwriting.
The remainder of the first set saw Martin turn the focus to one of his heroes, the legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb. Firstly, with a cover version of the song Highwayman, the classic song that the heavyweight quartet of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson would record and use as their collective name, followed by Galveston, which provided Glen Campbell with one of his biggest hits. The choice of covers was understandable considering the close working relationship Martin had developed with the offspring of these two musical legends, but what it demonstrated, for the umpteenth time already this evening, was the power and maturity of his voice, with a sagacious delivery that belied his still relatively youthful years. Squeezed between these two country standards was another song from the new album, with Brown Paper Bag more than holding its own, suggesting a faint similarity in writing style to the aforementioned Kristofferson. A weighty accolade but fully deserved.
The second half opened with Money For The Needy, the only track from this evening’s set list to have first appeared on Martin’s debut album Empty Passenger Seat. Though initially this seemed somewhat surprising, in truth it probably proved a perfect indicator as to how far Martin has come in the intervening years, as a songwriter and as a performer, and that, in many ways, he has outgrown those older songs. That interpretation felt all the stronger with two more tracks from Alone In Valentine, with the reflective Man You Need and the heart-aching honesty embedded in its narrative, followed by the uptempo Backstreet Driver, which again showcased some delightful guitar playing, full of arpeggio runs and an infectious rhythmic beat. In between, Martin threw in another cover of a Glen Campbell hit, this time Gentle On My Mind, supported by a humorous tale of getting to perform on stage with Carl Jackson, longtime banjo player in Campbell’s band
There was still time for one more song from the new album with Silhouettes and Sunsets that Martin described as a tribute to another of his heroes, this time Roy Orbison, before closing the second set with yet another Campbell classic, and an exquisite rendition of Wichita Lineman. Needless to say, the audience that had been in good voice throughout demanded an encore, and after a few minutes Martin returned to perform one more song from Campbell’s back catalogue, this time from the end of the great man’s career and another written by Webb, as Adios brought the evening’s show to a perfect close.
Opening proceedings this evening and making her second visit to this hallowed stage after a very successful appearance supporting Canadian singer-songwriter Lynn Hanson eighteen months ago was none other than Maggie May Treanor. Yorkshire-based Treanor is the current recipient of the ‘Americana UK Twang Factor’ award, a competition designed to discover the best new and emerging Americana acts from around the world. On the back of that success, her touring schedule has increased significantly, and she recently completed an extremely successful tour of the Emerald Isles.
This evening, Treanor was accompanied by Band of Steves guitarist Steve Collington and opened her seven-song set with a relatively new number entitled Fifty-Fifty, which, with its emotive narrative and strong melody, instantly struck a chord with the evening’s enthusiastic congregation, proving to be another excellent addition to Treanor’s already flourishing canon of work. This was followed by This Time Emily, the song that saw Treanor win the AUK competition, and which has already become something of a classic with its backstory of a wild night in Mendocino, California, and the chance meeting with a runaway girl, one of many known as the ‘Rainbow Children’, and its tale of courage and restless energy.
Treanor is an outstanding vocalist; her emotive power, soulful and bluesy in equal measure, offers an occasional nod towards Christine McVie, and yet at the same time her phrasing and reflective narrative deliver a sagacious poignancy that draws comparison to great exponents of the Americana genre such as Emmylou Harris. Singing, often with her eyes closed, expressive and animated, her poetry regularly pulls on the heartstrings, as on the exquisite Just Because, and yet is just as adept at the double entendre, as in the equally popular Chicken Thighs.
Needless to say, her set ended far too soon for the audience who would have quite happily listened to another seven songs at the very least. However, Treanor has one more treat for everyone, with a new song that, on this first hearing, is clearly going to be another crowd favourite: Gonna Stay, originally written as a solo piano piece, but here working wonderfully well with guitar accompaniment. Treanor had earlier in her set informed the audience that an album has been recorded, but as yet there is no date for release. Let’s all hope that date is not too far away, as Treanor is an exceptionally talented singer-songwriter who deserves the widest recognition.
