L.A. Beat

Martin Kerr seemed an unlikely contestant for Canadian Idol… a fact that didn’t stop the altruistic British-born busker from becoming a top-16 finalist in the competition. Martin’s rapid rise from the street to the studio has been both uncompromising and well-deserved. His smart, Crowded House-style songs celebrate love, marriage and the undiscovered geniuses who shun the sell-out of manufactured reality shows. Martin has independently released two folk-pop albums, “I Know You’re Out There” and “Just Another Man” and sold over 5,000 copies worldwide.

After years of traveling (and busking) around the world, Kerr settled in Edmonton in 2005. He recorded his second album, “I Know You’re Out There”, with Captain Tractor’s Chris Wynters. It went on to be named “Best Canadian Pop Album 2007” by Toronto
Exclusive Magazine.

Martin Kerr seems destined to become a household name in Canada and there’s every reason to believe he’ll be big in China. In 2008, he released a double album of children’s tunes, Virtues in Us, co-written with a Chinese musician. The songs are being used in several Chinese schools to teach students about cleanliness, courtesy, patience, generosity, courage and service. The album is currently being proposed as part of the Chinese national educational curriculum.

Playing to his roots in 2009, Martin enjoyed incredible success as a street performer, drawing in huge crowds and selling thousands of CDs on Edmonton’s street corners. The Edmonton Journal gave him a double-page spread as they named him #2 in their “52 Things to Love About Edmonton” series.

Currently Martin is currently working with Juno nominated and WCMA winner, Sandro Dominelli, to contract and produce a new album scheduled to be released in early summer 2010. It will feature writing and performance collaborations with some of Canada’s best-known musical talent. The release tour will be slated for festival dates in June, July, and August 2010; with local concentrated releases through September October and November.

“A really great talent finds its happiness in execution.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe