Marty Falle Interview

Marty Falle is an American Country/Bluegrass Singer-Songwriter and Nashville recording artist. Falle’s critically acclaimed music has drawn an international following through the years. Marty has released four LPs including the beautifully remastered “Ohio”, “Long, Long Road”, “Bloody Coal” and “Virgin on the Bluegrass” whose title track delivers with his storytelling, soulful style and takes us to the hollers of Eastern Kentucky with a melodic yet haunting and progressive Country – Bluegrass sound.

Marty performed live in Nashville for a special event that was taped for European TV on February 1st, 2020. Marty and band performed his originals – “Bloody Coal”, “Rio Grande”, “Palmetto Moonshine” and the unreleased “Make it to Macon”.

In October 2021, John Lawless, Editor and Founder of the largest Bluegrass Magazine globally, “Bluegrass Today”, writes this – South Carolina-based singer/songwriter Marty Falle is another example of an artist who has made their way back to bluegrass after working several years in the country music world. After knocking around fronting cover bands for some time, Marty decided to give it a shot as himself, and released an album, Ohio, that did well on CMT in 2010, especially his video for Hoochie Coochie Gal from the Buckeye State, which received over three millions views online.

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He says that he discovered the music fresh out of school when a new job took him to Kentucky’s coal region. “Country and bluegrass music hit me like a lightning bolt shortly after I was transferred to Eastern Kentucky Coal Country after graduating from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. I was a traveling salesman and the locals took me in and turned me on to Makers Mark Bourbon, Bluegrass at Renfro Valley, and Dwight Yoakum. I wore out my CDs of Steve Earle, Keith Whitley, and Bill Monroe as I drove my pick-up to places like Harlan, Pikeville, and Pineville. It was strange and beautiful at the same time.”

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Marty’s trip to Nashville to make his country record led to him meeting up with producer Jonathan Yudkin, who is also involved in Falle’s newly released album, Virgin on the Bluegrass. It’s a clever title, referencing his first foray into an all-bluegrass project, though songs on the Ohio album also showed grassy tinges. But with Yudkin’s guidance – he plays several bluegrass instruments – and a studio band consisting of Nashville super pickers, he figured ‘why the heck not?’

He says he took exactly that approach.

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“So why make a pure bluegrass record? Simple… I LOVE bluegrass, and I had an opportunity to work with a dream team like Jonathan Yudkin (producer, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, orchestration) Rob Ikes (reso-guitar) David Grier (guitar), Corey Walker (banjo), and Mike Bub (bass) along with Marty Slayton and Kim Parent on background vocals. Marty has worked as a vocalist with George Strait and Kim with Brooks and Dunn.

Over the years, I have lived in Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and now South Carolina. ‘Real Appalachia’ influences my songwriting to this day.”