Martin Shore
Martin Shore is a Grammy-winning music producer, award-winning filmmaker, musician and founder of the Take Me to the River Education Initiative, a project devoted to preserving and passing forward the musical legacies of Memphis and New Orleans.
Shore began his career as a musician and toured with artists including Bo Diddley, Albert Collins and Clarence Clemons before moving further into music production and filmmaking. Over the years, he has worked as a producer, music supervisor and musician across film and recording projects and has collaborated with artists including Snoop Dogg, Mavis Staples, Booker T. Jones and the North Mississippi Allstars.
His directorial debut, Take Me to the River, explored the musical heritage of Memphis through collaborations between legendary performers and younger artists. The film won the Audience Award at SXSW and received honors at several other film festivals. Shore later turned his attention to Louisiana with Take Me to the River: New Orleans, continuing the concept through recording sessions that brought together generations of musicians while exploring the history and cultural forces behind New Orleans music.
That project later added a Grammy-winning chapter to Shore’s career. In 2023, he won the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance as a producer of “Stompin’ Ground,” performed by Aaron Neville and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band for the Take Me to the River: New Orleans project. Berklee College of Music lists the award among Shore’s professional honors.
Shore’s work has also grown beyond documentary filmmaking. He founded the Take Me to the River Education Initiative, which has expanded into films, music productions, educational programs and live performances designed to preserve the musical traditions of Memphis and New Orleans and introduce them to new generations. The initiative is led by Shore and continues to focus on music, education and cultural preservation.
In the World Footprints podcast, Martin joins New Orleans guitarist and producer Ian Neville for a conversation about the making of Take Me to the River: New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina, the Neville family’s musical legacy and what it takes to sustain a living culture.
Listen to our conversation with Martin Shore and Ian Neville in Take Me to the River: New Orleans — Inside the Music, History and Living Legacy.
Martin Shore appears in
Martin Shore and Ian Neville explore the music, history and living cultural legacy behind Take Me to the River: New Orleans—and the Grammy-winning recording that followed their World Footprints conversation.
