Martin Stories

Ever picked up a guitar and felt like every note had something to say?

Hunter Hayes, the five-time GRAMMY-nominated, Louisiana-raised songwriter, producer, and Martin artist behind the new album Evergreen, joins Jimmy Leslie from his home studio in Nashville, Tennessee. He brings the Martin OM he bought at 17 with his first publishing check, the guitar that became the signature sound of his debut album.

Hunter takes us inside his home studio, where one stereo ribbon mic sits ready for every acoustic idea. He shares how a walk into Guitar Center led to his OM, and how he came to paint his iconic sentiment, "For the Love of Music," on his gear.

He talks about the tiny 1958 Martin he found in Japan and the small-bodied Terz guitars that now start most of his songs, and about his koa custom. He also explains how the riff from the title track, "Evergreen," came together, built from ukuleles, an oud, a mandolin-banjo, and a bouzouki, and co-written with Gordie Sampson. Along the way he covers the Martins he takes on tour, the Evergreen guitar with artwork by Robert Goetzl, and his favorite Martin memory.

If this one made you want to pick up a guitar and see what comes out, send it to the songwriter in your life who needs the nudge.

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Ever picked up a guitar and just not wanted to put it down?

Brandy Clark, named one of the 30 greatest living songwriters by The New York Times and a Martin artist for about a decade, joins Jimmy Leslie from Nashville. She's written songs recorded by Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert, and her new album, The Bird, is produced by Shooter Jennings.

Brandy shares how a shoulder injury from writing and teaching guitar all day pushed her toward a smaller Martin, the OMJM, and why she's rarely bought another brand since. She breaks down her rolling fingerpicking style and why she loves a capo. She also tells the story of how a John Prine line at the 2018 Americana Awards became "Who You Thought I Was," and what happened when she finally told him. Along the way she plays that one live, plus "Follow Your Arrow," "Get High," "American Roots," and "Hold My Hand," and talks about recording with her road band, and why the "magic comes in the mistakes."

If you've ever fallen for a guitar because of how it feels in your hands, send this one to the songwriter in your life.

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Some decisions take years to unfold. This one took a nanosecond.

Laurence Juber—named one of the 50 greatest acoustic guitar players of all time by Guitar Player Magazine, and best known for his tenure with Paul McCartney and Wings in the late '70s and early '80s—joins Jimmy Leslie from his home studio in Studio City, Los Angeles. LJ is a fingerstyle specialist and longtime champion of the Martin OM (Orchestra Model), the guitar body style built around melody and bassline played at once.

LJ walks through the phone call at Abbey Road that led to Wings, the moment Paul McCartney asked what he was doing for the next few years, and the choice he made in an instant. He digs deep into the history of the Martin OM—why it disappeared for decades before being rediscovered as the ultimate fingerstyle guitar—and the years-long process that led to his own signature model, the OMC-21 LJ, built in Cuban mahogany. He also traces his path from session player on The Spy Who Loved Me and Roseanne to his acclaimed LJ Plays the Beatles series, now five albums deep.

If this one made you want to go down a guitar-wood rabbit hole, send it to the gear nerd in your life who'll thank you for it.

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Some guitars just sit in a case. This one helped write "Hotel California." Don Felder—Eagles guitarist from the mid-'70s through the band's first breakup, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, and author of Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles—joins Jimmy Leslie from his California studio, known as The Vault. He brings along the actual 1965 Martin D-35 he bought while working at a music store in high school—the guitar that unlocked the iconic key for Hotel California. He calls it: "The love of my life for acoustic guitars." Don walks through the wild, true story of how Hotel California song landed in B minor (a key almost nobody writes rock songs in), the friendship with Bernie Leadon that got him into the Eagles in the first place, learning slide guitar from Duane Allman as a teenager, and reworking Hotel California into the now-iconic MTV Unplugged version. He also opens up about The Vault, his recently released album built from decades of forgotten demos, including a track he wrote and recorded in tribute to Glenn Frey. If you've ever wondered what's actually behind one of the most famous guitar parts in rock history, share this one with the guitar player in your life who needs to hear it. Follow Martin Guitar on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@martinguitar Follow Martin Guitar on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martinguitar/ Follow Don Felder: https://www.instagram.com/donfeldermusic/

Jimmy Leslie catches up with blues guitar legend Joe Bonamassa, who joins from "Nerdville Gotham," his New York City home and vintage gear hub. They trace Joe's Martin story back to the very beginning—clawing at his father's mid-'70s Martin D-35 as a toddler growing up in his dad's vintage guitar shop—all the way through to the moment of looking inside a Martin and seeing his own name on the label—this time on his latest signature models, a 00-18 and 00-10E Retro, both inspired by a humble 1937 shade-top found by a friend in Birmingham, Alabama, complete with its original 1938 layaway receipt. Along the way, Joe talks about the almost mystical lightness of pre-war Martins (and the one time he got to hold a Stradivarius violin), the story of a 000-45 that saved a stranger's house, and performing "Woke Up Dreaming" at a breakneck tempo with cellist Tina Guo at Carnegie Hall—a performance he compares to "Evel Knievel jumping the fountains at Caesars Palace." He also reflects on 60 albums, a possible final solo record, and what it means to finally see his own name on a Martin. If this made you rethink what actually makes a guitar "the one," pass it along to someone who still thinks expensive always means better. Check out Joe's performance of Woke Up Dreaming at Carnegie Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM1M6p1fiUM&list=RDHM1M6p1fiUM&start_radio=1 Follow Joe here: https://www.instagram.com/joebonamassa/ Follow Martin Guitar: https://www.instagram.com/martinguitar/ Subscribe to Martin Guitar YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@martinguitar Check out the launch of the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa and 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa, two new signature acoustic guitars inspired by Bonamassa's treasured 1937 Martin 00-18 shade-top.

Some guitars choose you years before you actually have them—this is the story of one that did. Jimmy Leslie catches up with Kenneth Pattengale, one half of the folk duo The Milk Carton Kids, who joins from his North Hollywood studio, surrounded by decades of vintage Martin collecting. They trace the story of his main guitar—a 1954 Martin 0-15 he first laid eyes on in a museum case, spent two and a half years hunting down, and eventually built his entire signature Martin model around. Kenneth walks through the philosophy behind his playing—how a duo forces you to "collide" two guitars into one sound, why he's drawn to instruments that are "real" rather than "pretty," and the surprising, almost accidental story behind how Martin turned a pile of rejected guitar wood into his affordable signature model. Along the way, he shares memories of Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, and Stephen Stills, and reflects on what 2,500 shows with The Milk Carton Kids has taught him about connection over perfection. If this made you think differently about what "perfect" even means, pass it along to someone who needs the reminder. Follow Milk Carton Kids: https://www.instagram.com/themilkcartonkids/ Follow Martin Guitar: https://www.instagram.com/martinguitar/ Subscribe to Martin Guitar YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@martinguitar