Martha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician.

She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums.

Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and the younger sister of singer–composer Rufus Wainwright.

Martha Wainwright's live performances have received critical praise, with The Telegraph writing that her concerts "leave in no doubt that she is a singular star. " Apart from music, she has appeared in several film projects, including Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator and the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge alongside Frances McDormand.

Wainwright owns and operates Ursa, a café, concert-hall, bar, and recording space in Montreal.

Martha was born in New York City on May 8, 1976, to folk musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III.

She moved to Montreal with her mother and brother when she was one year old, and was raised in Montreal in a musical family.

She is Rufus Wainwright's sister and they frequently perform together and collaborate on each other’s albums.

Martha is also half-sister to Lucy Wainwright Roche, with whom she collaborated on the album Songs In The Dark, which was nominated for a Juno Award.

Martha Wainwright's first release was an album-length independent cassette of ten tracks, Ground Floor, released in 1997.

Despite the sentiment, she collaborated a year earlier with Loudon on the song "You Never Phone" on his 2003 album So Damn Happy.

"Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" was used at the end of the second episode in season three of the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black, and at the end of the fourth episode in season one of the HBO original series Big Little Lies.

Wainwright released two EPs in 2005—Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole and I Will Internalize—both of which contained some tracks that also appeared on her self-titled studio album, Martha Wainwright.

PopMatters called the Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole EP "a rebellious introductory stance for an artist looking to provoke or silence potential critics. " The Sunday Times included the song "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" in their songs of the year and Rolling Stone called it "a blistering prelude to her debut album."

"Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" was inspired by Wainwright's father, Loudon Wainwright III.

She wrote the track as a response to her father's way of writing songs about his family, rather than tending to them.

Wainwright's self-titled debut album was released through Zoë Records and Drowned in Sound in April 2005, and earned Wainwright a nomination for New Artist of the Year at the 2006 Juno Awards.

The album also reached number 43 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

Her debut album featured contributions from her mother, Kate McGarrigle, her brother, Rufus Wainwright, her cousin, Lily Lanken, as well as organ and saxophone from Garth Hudson of The Band.

Pitchfork wrote that the album "proves Martha Wainwright has a strong, distinct, fully formed musical identity, which would be just as impressive by any other name."

In 2006, Wainwright collaborated with Snow Patrol on their song "Set the Fire to the Third Bar," off their critically and commercially successful album Eyes Open.

Frontman Gary Lightbody says that he wrote the song with Wainwright's vocals specifically in mind.

Alvin Chan from musicOMH raved that "Lightbody's vocals are perfectly complemented by Canadian songstress Martha Wainwright, whose arrestingly haunting voice is put to good use."

Wainwright's second album, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, was released through Zoë Records and Drowned in Sound in June 2008, resulting in the No. 10 position on the Top Heatseekers Billboard charts and No. 6 on the Billboard Canada Music Charts, among other chart positions throughout Europe and Australia.

"Comin' Tonight" was released as an iTunes exclusive download in Australia in April 2008.

In addition to returning collaborators Anna McGarrigle, Kate McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright, and Garth Hudson, Donald Fagen of Steely Dan contributed synthesizers on "So Many Friends," and Pete Townshend played electric guitar on "You Cheated Me" and "Comin' Tonight."

The album was hailed for showcasing Wainwright's musical maturity and talent as a songwriter, and was a Long List Nominee for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize.

The album features 12 original tracks and cover versions of Pink Floyd's See Emily Play and, as a bonus track in some countries, the Eurythmics' Love Is a Stranger.

The Australian release included a limited edition digipak with additional images and the bonus track.

Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, à Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record, a tribute to legendary French singer Édith Piaf, was released in November 2009.

An homage to Piaf, it was received with glowing reviews, leaving audiences "stunned" by Wainwright's "incredible range and talent".

The album was recorded during three performances in New York's Dixon Place Theatre in June 2009.

The accompanying DVD was filmed by Jamie Catto.

The name of the album comes from the lyrics to Piaf’s song "Les Grognards."

"Proserpina", the album's first single, was written by Wainwright's mother, Kate McGarrigle, who died in 2010.

Produced by Cibo Matto’s Yuka Honda, it was heralded by Mojo Magazine as a "substantial and brilliantly sung career best."

The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Canada Music Charts and #21 US Top Heatseekers Billboard charts.

Come Home To Mama was released on October 15, 2012.

The album was recorded at Sean Lennon's home studio in New York City and produced by Cibo Matto’s Yuka Honda.

Guest musicians on the album included Honda, Lennon, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, and Dirty Three drummer Jim White.