When I met this young man a few years ago, I knew that he had something and that we would be seeing and hearing more of him. Sure enough, now, here I am interviewing Wyatt Martin for the Artist Spotlight series.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with a lot of up and coming, or very seasoned, local artists. Wyatt is a great example of a local artist influencing the local live music culture in and around Frisco. And an interesting fact about Wyatt… He spent four years living in another country very far away from Frisco and speaks another language fluently. Learn more about Wyatt, below.
Lifestyle Frisco: How did you get involved in music?
Wyatt Martin: When I was fifteen years old, I had a friend that was a few years younger than me. He was an amazing guitar player. Myself, on the other hand, was not. During that time we started a friendly rivalry and to be honest, it never really stopped. However, it was in those times that I realized this is what I want to do and minus a few detours, I never really looked back. Music is and will always be an inseparable part of my life.
LsF: Do you write your own songs or stick to covers?
WM: I’m a fairly prolific songwriter and I really try to keep my live sets pretty original-heavy. I have a handful of covers that I really love to play and truly resonate with me.
LsF: What style of music do you play or what is your favorite?
WM: My all-time favorite style to play has to be folk music, but in my sets I’ve played rock, blues and even reggae.
LsF: What are some of your favorite places to play around the DFW area?
WM: Oh man, where to start. Landon Winery, Legacy Hall, Hub Street and Opening Bell Coffee are just a few that I really enjoy playing at. I’m excited to see more music venues or bars doing live music around Frisco and can’t wait to play those.
LsF: Tell me about the band that you’re going to be playing with soon.
WM: The band is called Wyatt and the Harbingers. It’s a new band/project. We have an album that we have been working on called It’s Complicated and we’ll be releasing it at the end of this year.
The really interesting and bizarre story though comes from how the band was formed. The bass player and I are bandmates from our college days. We both studied in Northern China in a city called Harbin (hence where we got the name Harbingers). The two of us spent four years there and both speak Mandarin fluently. When we graduated, we both went in different directions and paths. We remained in contact but as time went by we lost that, too.
Now, on the other side of the world in Texas, we connected again and are now making great music and not skipping a beat.
LsF: What are some of the local artists that you are listening to these days or any that you would like to work with?
WM: The DFW area is a real hidden treasure when it comes to music. It might secretly have one of the best music scenes in the country. Some of my personal favorites are Doug Burr, Garret Owens, Jake Paleschic, and The Texas Gentlemen.
With the band starting to book dates and the album coming out this year, Wyatt Martin can be seen all around Frisco, McKinney and Plano. I would highly suggest checking out these upcoming events and make plans to go see him live. For more information, visit the website to sample live music, view pictures, find social media links, and more.
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