Appalachia in the Bluegrass Series: Martha Spencer and the Wonderland Band

Martha Spencer is a singer-songwriter, mountain musician and dancer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She grew up in the musical Spencer family and learned to play several instruments (guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass, dulcimer, mandolin) and flatfoot/clog at a young age. She performs and has recorded with various groups and has been involved with several roots music projects. She has played shows, festivals and led workshops across the US, Australia, UK, Canada, and Europe. Martha’s first solo album 2018 and latest release “Wonderland” in 2022 have been featured in articles in Rolling Stone Country, No Depression, Holler, Wide Open Country, Bluegrass Situation, Americana Highways, PopMatters and more. She also has been included in articles in the NY Times, Austin Chronicle and Billboard and was a part of the Fiddlin’ documentary movie.

Concerts presented as part of “Appalachia in the Bluegrass” are free and open to the public and begin weekly at noon on Fridays, in the Niles Gallery of the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music, located at the University of Kentucky’s Lucille C. Little Fine Arts and Design Library.

An annual series, “Appalachia in the Bluegrass” celebrates the old-time roots of American folk music, while simultaneously representing a variety of different musical expressions, featuring performances by noted Appalachian soloists, duos and groups. The “Appalachia in the Bluegrass” concert series is sponsored by the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music and the UK College of Fine Arts.