East Lancashire singer songwriter Joe Martin is preparing for his second headline tour in less than 12 months with a series of dates lined up across the country.

But he’s taking it all in his stride and confides “I kind of feel there is less pressure on me this time”.

Last year Joe headed out round the country to promote his debut album, Empty Passenger Seat, which was met with great critical acclaim.

Lancashire Telegraph: Joe Martin

“It was my first headline tour and I had a full band with me,” he said, “so the stakes were pretty high. There’s always pressure when you tour but now I’ve got more experience under my belt. Going on the road is a huge leap of faith but as an artist you have to do it at some point and with the new album out, that was the time to do it.”

For his new tour which sees him travel to Cardiff tomorrow followed by gigs in Bath, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland, Joe will accompanied by Tom Dibb on guitar and keyboards.

“This time it’s just the two of us in a car doing songs that are stripped back pretty much to basics,” he said. “I’ll be heading out with some new songs which are all less than 12 months old and are all unrecorded so the audiences can be the guinea pigs for them.

“I’ve been playing the odd one at gigs I’ve done recently and now I just want to give them an airing as a collective, so on tour I’ll be doing a third of the set of new songs, a third of the set from Passenger Seat stripped back and a third featuring songs that have inspired me.”

Joe’s blend of Americana with a country tinge reflects his love of storytellers such as James Taylor.

As a truly independent artist, Joe is fully aware of the difficulties a tour can bring.

“All the audience sees is the one per cent,” he said. "Everything is geared to that show you’re putting on and so many hours have gone into making sure it all goes off smoothly.

“With a tour it starts with booking the gigs which is always tough. You are trying to convince a venue as an unknown artist to take a risk on you. I fully understand why more are booking tribute acts as they have got their costs to meet but the tolerance window is definitely shrinking.

“The hard bit is booking in a tour that actually makes geographical sense so you’re not giving yourself ridiculous amounts of travelling between gigs. Then you’ve got to promote it and get the word out there.

“The actual performance is the reward almost."

Having done a headline tour - and a co-headline tour in September with Alex Hart - Joe has found the arrangements easier this time round.

“We’re going back to some of the same venues so they know me,” he said, “plus, having done some gigs around the country you can refer other venues to them which makes them more confident to book you.”

Joe is a regular performer at the Barnoldswick and Music and Arts Centre - the date there for his new tour is already sold out. But he does have a date at Manchester’s Castle Hotel next Saturday with tickets still available.

“When I go out on my own it’s just me and my guitar and I have to think about then when I’m writing songs,” he said. “If I had a band and a studio at my disposal all the time my approach may well be different but the songs have to stand up on their own.

“At the moment I’m writing some songs which are more poppy and then others which are definitely not poppy so I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. Actually I think that’s quite healthy because it can be all too easy to get stuck writing the same kind of song all the time.

“With the tour I did with Alex last year and also thinking about this tour I did worry that I didn’t have any new product to go with it. There is a lot of pressure on artists to always be coming up with things.

Lancashire Telegraph: Joe Martin's debut album, Empty Passenger Seat

“But then I realised Empty Passenger Seat is not even a year old yet. I worked too long and too hard on it just to move on from it already.”

Once the tour is over, Joe is heading off to Nashville at the end of July.

“I’ve been invited to do a gig over there so I’m flying out and hopefully picking up a few more dates and also looking to do some co-writes,” he said.

Joe was last in Nashville in 2018 and is hoping to catch up with musicians he met last time round.

“There’s such a different vibe over there,” he said. “So many people do co-writes and coming from England makes you an intriguing prospect.”

Jeff Dayton, Glen Campbell’s long-time guitarist, has approached Joe to support him on a UK tour in September and he’s also looking to arrange a few dates in Nashville for him.

“It’s all about getting seen and heard,” said Joe. “The last time I was in Nashville I only had my first EP whereas now I have a debut album and a lot more songs and a lot more shows under my belt.

“I’m not putting any pressure on the trip, I’m just looking forward to the experience.”

For details of all the dates in Joe’s tour and to obtain his album and EPs visit www.joemartinmusic.com