For local bluegrass artist Janice Martin, music is life.
Martin is not just the leader of the Bluegrass Martin Band, she is a promoter as well as the worship leader at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. The Bluegrass Martins band is composed of Martin and her five siblings who equally share the love of music.
"Over the years, the music has kept us together and in some ways has even brought us closer together," Martin said.
Martin has been a part of the Bluegrass Martins Band for 17 years, creating more and more traction for bluegrass music and other classic bluegrass musicians who have come to town to play.
The band has created a contemporary sound and craving for bluegrass music in Jefferson City and across the country, using their voices and their instruments which include a mandolin, bass, guitar, fiddle, banjo and dobro.
"We've been able to travel all across the country because of the music," Martin said. "Without it, we probably wouldn't have left the state other than to go our parents' hometown in Pennsylvania."
In the past, the band traveled to the Bahamas on a Bluegrass Cruise, Florida, Canada and they would like to do a tour in England.
"We would do anything we can to get out and play music to spread the love of acoustic, real-soul music," Martin said.
As Martin has become more confident and experienced in the world of show business, she has found different ways to increase the level of interest in bluegrass music in Jefferson City.
"Our goal is to try to bring younger people on-board with bluegrass," Martin said. "They've got to realize there's more than just rock and roll, rap, and all these mainstream genres out there."
In 2014, Martin started her journey as a promoter unveiling her very own booking agency called Sho-Me Music Entertainment. It wasn't until she connected with Quentin Rice in 2016 that she took the self-made booking agency to the next step.
"An intimate evening with Bluegrass Music featuring The Special Consensus" was Martin's first concert under the Sho-Me Music Entertainment agency back in March 2016. Since then, she has launched a host of concert series highlighting various Bluegrass bands. Martin now has a concert series that targets musicians who are Missouri native under the title of Missouri Sessions. All of her recent shows have been hosted at Avenue HQ, located on 623 E. Capitol Ave.
Music is embedded into all aspects of Martin's life. She is not only a successful artist and promoter, but her faith in a higher power brought her to accept a role as a worship minister at Our Savior's Lutheran Church.
"When you're doing something right, it seems like everything is coming together," Martin said. "My previous job was not helping me to spread the joy and love of happiness of the music. Taking the position at the the Lutheran church was one of the best decisions I have made."
She said that now she's learning a different kind of music as a worship minister, but is still doing what she loves to do - spreading love and helping others through music.
In the near future, the Bluegrass Martin Band will release an album with Leona Williams titled "Standup for America." Martin also looks forward to starting a Missouri Bluegrass Preservation Association to bring awareness about who the pioneers of bluegrass of music were.
"Music is its own language and can speak in ways that you can't speak in a conversation," Martin said.