JEFF TALMADGE

 WELCOME! I hope you'll take a few minutes to look around. 

There's a brief note about "Sparrow" at the bottom of the page. You can sign up for the mailing list there. 

My seven previous studio recordings are listed on the Discography page.

You can get to the merch page (CDs, T-shirts, etc) by clicking on the "Store" link above. All of the "Sparrow" merchandise features the wonderful artwork of Austin artist Rob Cordes.

Comments and updates are below, starting with the most recent.

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Scroll down for info on where to hear my music on the various streaming services.

May 8, 2026. Jan Seides is celebrating her years in the Austin music scene! A lot of her friends, including me, will be part of the festivities at the New World Deli 7-9 PM. Guests include me, Steve Brooks, Betty Elders, Jean Synodinos, Michael Elwood, Brian QTN and more.

March 2026. During SXSW week, I'll once again be part of the Third Coast Music Songwriter Series in Austin. If you're on my mailing list, you'll probably get an email about it. You can sign up for the mailing list at the bottom of this page. Music all day March 12, 13 and 14. No wristband required. I'll go on at 3 PM Saturday. Also appearing on Saturday: Flyin' A's, Steve Brooks, Mary Battiata, Michael Fracasso, BettySoo, Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus, Lisa Fancher, Jenny Reynolds, and Mark Viator & Susan Maxey.

Thanks for the support you've shown for Sparrow.

February 2026. I have a lot of material recorded for the next record, whenever that might be. In addition there are some new songs that we've been working on in the studio. 

December 7, 2025: Honored to be part of Jim Patton's birthday celebration at the New World Deli in Austin.

November 16 2025: In the round with songwriters Terry Klein and Steve Brooks at the New World Deli in Austin. Terry has a great new record, and Steve will have one coming out soon.

November 2025: Recorded some new tracks in Georgia that included new songs, a few public domain songs, and a couple of co-writes. 

October 2025: I've been working on some new songs and pre-production for what I hope will be a new record within the next year. 

TEXAS FLOODS: As you probably know, the Texas hill country experienced a devastating flood in early July. Recovery will undoubtedly take a long time. If you would like to donate to help with the ongoing needs of the community, you can go to The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country here: https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4201

As a reminder, you can listen to all of my records pretty much anywhere you can stream music, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music. (You don’t have to be a paid subscriber to Spotify or YouTube to listen.) And “Sparrow” is also available on Bandcamp, where you can also find lyrics and album credits. (There are some links above, next to my picture, where you can hear it.) 

 I was pleased to find that my music is approaching a million plays on Pandora. The “analytics” on the streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are surprising detailed. For example, as of early August 2025, on Spotify “Sparrow” was played in at least 50 countries in the previous month. The top ten countries (in order) are the USA, Germany, The Netherlands, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Spain, Belgium, New Zealand and Italy. The top ten cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Amsterdam, Dublin, Brussels, Brisbane, Seattle, Portland, London and Denver.

Previous updates:

May 15, 16 and 17, 2025 I'll be playing showcases at the Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) conference.

I'll be Craig Clifford's guest at the Poets and Pickers Series in Stephenville, Texas on April 27, 2025. 

Glad to be part of the April 4 benefit show with Jenny Reynolds, Frank Myer and Southpaw Jones, hosted by Todd Hoke. Proceeds go to hurricane relief for western North Carolina.

During SXSW in Austin, I'll be playing at Mozart's Coffee on March 13, 2025 as part of the USA Songwriters Showcase. It goes from 7:00 to 10:00 and I'm scheduled to go on from 9:00-9:25 PM.

On March 15 I'll be part of the Third Coast Music Showcase lineup at the New World Deli in Austin I'll go on at 1:30. Music all day. No wristband required.

Thanks to the folks at Fiddler's Green in Atlanta, where I had a fun show on February 15. I got a last-minute call to fill in for someone, and it was a very enjoyable evening. It had been fifteen or twenty years since I'd played there.

I'm the featured artist on Jon Stein's Hootenanny Cafe Radio Show Mini Concert, airing on WTBQ, 93.5 FM in the Orange County, NY area, and 98.3 WGHT in North Jersey and NYC. Original broadcast dates: February 11, 2025 on WTBQ, with rebroadcast on Feb. 13 and 14 on bellbuckleradio.com. Then on www.hootenannycafe.com.

The song "If I Was A Sparrow" is a finalist in the IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards) contest. (January 31, 2025)

"Sparrow" ranked #29 on the 2024 Year-End EuroAmericana Chart based on submissions from chart reporters in The Netherlands, France and Sweden. It reached #4 on that chart earlier in the year.

"Sparrow" was #21 on the official Folk DJ Chart for all of 2024. It reached #5 earlier in the year.

Released in February 2024, at the end of the year (December 28) it was still on the Alternative Folk Album Chart at #29 and on the Texas Album Chart at #49. It reached #2 on the Alternative Folk Chart earlier in the year.

The Alternative Country Specialty Music Chart lists  "Sparrow" as one of the top 100 records for 2024.

UPDATE: In December 2024, "Sparrow" was accepted for "Electric Lady Bird", a great project of the Austin Public Library featuring music from central Texas artists. You can click on albums or artists to see and hear other central Texas musicians who are included in the current round of "Electric Lady Bird". https://atxlibrary.musicat.co/albums/jeff-talmadge-sparrow

UPDATE: "Katie's Got a Locket" from "Sparrow" is a finalist in the USA Songwriting Contest. 

UPDATE: Selections from new reviews have been added to the Reviews page, so you can see what others are saying. The most recent is from Australia.

UPDATE: Someone has asked about lyrics. You can find them on the BandCamp page.

UPDATE: Do you know someone who might enjoy hearing "Sparrow"? It's available for free listening on Spotify, Youtube, BandCamp, etc. (There are some links above, next to my picture, where you can hear it.) You can also pay what you want on BandCamp or make a donation  on Spotify.

UPDATE: I'm glad to say that almost 10 months after it was released, as of  November 2024 "Sparrow" is #9 on the Alternative Folk Chart and in the 20s on the Folk and Texas Album Charts. Thank you to the many radio stations around the country who have played "Sparrow" and to those of you who have found it online.

UPDATE: At the end of October, "Sparrow" is still #9 on the Alternative Folk Chart, #22 on the Texas Album chart, and #29 on the Folk Album Chart with the Roots Music Report.

UPDATE: (September 2024) I've got two poems in the inaugural issue of a new literary journal, The Nomad, out of Salt Lake City. One of the poems also previously appeared in Miramar.

UPDATE: At the end of August, 2024, "Sparrow is #6 on the Alternative Folk Chart.

SCAM WARNING: There are some bad actors on Facebook impersonating various musicians, offering T-shirts and other merchandise for sale through bogus accounts. At least two of my songwriter friends have been victims of this scam (although the fans who paid money are the real victims). If you see someone selling merch from Facebook, check with the artist and make sure it's legit.

UPDATE: I'll be playing a rare Austin afternoon show Sept. 28, 2024 at the New World Deli in Austin. 2-4 PM.

UPDATE: As of August 2024, new reviews from Ireland, Sweden, Germany, England, The Netherlands, and the U.S. are on the "Reviews" page.

UPDATE: For the week of July 27, Sparrow is still  #3 on the Roots Music Report Alternative Folk Album Chart, #6 on the Texas Album Chart, and #7 on the Folk Album Chart.

UPDATE: I continue to be grateful for the reception that Sparrow has received. Last time I checked, which was pretty recently, there had been listeners to Sparrow from 56 countries within the previous month or so. Most were from the United States and The Netherlands. 

UPDATE: On Saturday, July 20, 2024 I'll be appearing on the nationally syndicated radio program Folkstage from WFMT in Chicago with Paper Birds. 8 pm Central time.

UPDATE: Big news!  I'll be playing the main stage at the Woodstock Folk Festival in Woodstock, IL on Sunday, July 21, along with Connie Kaldor, Annie Capps, Brittany Jean, Lynne Hanson, Los Gallos, Paper Birds, and SongSisters. www.woodstockfolkfestival.org.

UPDATE: Quite a few more reviews of "Sparrow" are in, and you can see them on the Reviews page.

UPDATE: I spent much of June 2024 in the Atlanta area catching up with friends, playing several small dates and making plans for another record (I'm hoping this one won't take 13 years....).

UPDATE: Thanks to those who attended the Arhaven House concert series in the middle of March. Wonderful hosts, great audience.

UPDATE: Even if you're already on the mailing list, it's a good idea to sign up below. I'm working to make the mailing list more efficient. You can cancel any time.

UPDATE: New merch (including CDs, T-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.) is available on the Store page.

UPDATE: "Sparrow" has recently been #4 on the EuroAmericana Chart, #6 on the Alt Country Chart, #6 on the National Association of College and Community Radio Stations (NACC) Chart, #7 Roots Music Report Roots Rock Chart, #5 Folk DJ Chart, #2 Alternative Folk Chart, and Top 50 Texas Albums Chart. It's also in the top 100 on the Americana Chart.

ABOUT SPARROW:
Recorded in Texas and Georgia, "Sparrow" is my first new album in over ten years, the last one being "Kind of Everything." I've had songs on other people's records and a track on a Townes van Zandt tribute record in Italy in the interim, but I'm glad to be releasing this album after quite a long period of relative silence. I'm very happy with how the recording turned out. It was co-produced by me, J. David Leonard and Bradley Kopp, and mastered by Marc Hallman. Of the ten original songs on "Sparrow" the album has one track co-written with Austin songwriters Jim Patton and Steve Brooks, one track co-written with Santa Fe songwriter Jaime Michaels, and one track co-written with Bradley Kopp. 

The reception has been good, with airplay around the United States, Canada, and Europe, and I am grateful. 

Don't forget -- you can hear my music anytime on Spotify, Pandora, Amazon, Youtube and any number of other streaming platforms at no cost, and you'll be able to purchase CDs, tracks and merchandise here (go to the Store page) and other places.

And thanks to those of you who have contacted me from time to time over the years to ask when my next record is coming out. I sincerely hope you like this one.