Martin Shears is a transplanted Englishman who grew up in London around folk musicians. He studied piano at an early age, then guitar, learning every single Beatles song he could, then the Who, then Pink Floyd, then… he currently has a repertoire of more than 1200 songs.

A move to the US culminated in a blend of cultures and musical influences.  His love of melody and power-pop lead him to form a band in the nineties called The Scones. The Scones produced a critically acclaimed debut release, penned by Shears, with a few key tracks garnering placements in multiple movies and television shows. After touring Europe extensively, Shears and former Scones bandmate Ike Marr formed the popular duo Ike & Martin.

Martin Shears is unique as a performer. Singing whilst playing guitar or piano and simultaneously playing bass pedals with his feet, he creates a sound that is far more than the sum of a single musician all without looping or backing tracks.

In 2021 Martin Shears released his new solo album “One Liners.” The album highlights Shears’s love of melody with hints of influences including Crowded House, XTC, ELO and British Folk. "I tend to write songs from my experience with human weirdness whether it be my own or somebody else's. We're all just trying to figure out how to contribute to each other without losing ourselves. People are complicated and I enjoy trying to capture that in 4 minutes or less,” he explains.