1940s Vintage Theater, Today’s Roots Sounds: The Martha Bassett Show
For musician and show host Martha Bassett, putting out great content isn’t just about a love for music; it’s also about a feeling of extended family.
As founder and host of The Martha Basset Show, she seeks to keep roots genres thriving. She brings people together to celebrate music that’s genuine and real; it’s a carefully curated listening space. She also provides a means for her extended family of far-away listeners to feel like they’re right there in the room.
The live weekly variety show program happens at the historic Reeves Theater in Elkin, North Carolina. It aims to reflect the rich Americana and roots scenes that happen all around – and well beyond – Elkin.
There’s a reason Bassett chose to focus on roots. She believes these genres lie at the foundations of most of our country’s music.
“If you think about it,” she explained, “virtually all popular American music today comes from the various forms of roots music. Old-time country, blues, bluegrass, early jazz…and the Piedmont of North Carolina is where so much of that music originated. We take pride in our artistic heritage and want to share it with the world.”
Before the program was even a twinkle in her eye, she was already a musician herself.
“I've been working in North Carolina since the mid ‘90s in a variety of bands...swing, jazz, old-time, Americana, bluegrass gospel, and most recently, samba and bossa nova,” she explained. “My personal band shows have always had a lot of musical diversity, so The Martha Bassett Show is kind of an extension of doing what I love. I also get the opportunity to sing harmonies with our guests, which is super fun!”
That diversity she mentions extends not just to the styles of music played, but to the performers themselves. She has a particular awareness of the importance of giving a literal voice to women.
“I aim for equal representation of women on the show,” she said. “Each show has three guests, plus our house band. When booking, I put together groupings of artists who complement and contrast each other. We're wide open to genres but tend toward roots-based music. We always have a lot of collaboration between the guests and the house band.”
The show started nine seasons ago. Bassett said she started it all with the intention of becoming a radio show.
“During the pandemic we were finally picked up by our local NPR station, and it’s grown from there,” she said.
“I was a fan of Prairie Home and wanted to create an old-time musical variety show to highlight all the great music in our region,” she explained. “Generally, we host a national, regional, and local artist. Our house band is made up of some of the best musicians in North Carolina.”
The audience for the show gets bigger over time due to an ever-growing online presence. Bassett said YouTube is an area of great expansion. The show has “almost half-a-million” subscribers.
A core element of Bassett’s live entertainment package is the theater where the show is held. It’s all captured before a live audience in a vintage setting that aligns perfectly with the roots orientation of the show’s content. The theater is a vibe to itself, and it appears to be a vital local landmark.
“The Reeves Theater is a lovingly restored 1940s downtown theater and is perfect in size and ambience for our show...very intimate, with great acoustics,” she explained. “We love highlighting the local businesses, and hope to bring tourists to Elkin for our show and the many other attractions in the area.”
Bassett summarizes how she feels about the program she created. The audience is viewed as a gathering of relatives.
“I like to think of our show as a very large family,” she said. “We take hospitality seriously, and our audience is a big part of that. They show so much love.”
