As part of the famous Wainwright/McGarrigle musical dynasty, Martha Wainwright was engulfed in a sea of music from childbirth. But the Brooklyn-based chanteuse has cemented her claim as a bona-fide artist in her own right.

Following the release of her sophomore album, I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too, Martha Wainwright and her full band are returning to Australia in November 2008.

Disbanding her initial career choice as an actor when she realized her priorities lay with songwriting, the Montreal native moved to New York City where her burgeoning singer-songwriter career began. Performing in bars and coffee-houses across the city, her signature raw stage presence blossomed and bloomed into the rousing live performer we see today.

With a constantly changing timbre of depth, Wainwright displays a remarkable polarity between songs of harrowing despair that also show a sense of spontaneity and playfulness. It is this striking mixture of light and shade and her ability to conceptualize, tackle and achieve dynamic arrangements that marry so beautifully with her heartfelt lyrics of remarkable candour and acrimonious humour.

She can, within a single verse, play both angel and demon.

On Wainwrights’s second album, I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too, she is joined by legendary figures including Pete Townsend, The Band’s Garth Hudson, Donald Fagen from Steely Dan, as well as Rufus, mum and aunt Kate and Anna McGarrigle respectively, and cousin Lily Lakin - another rising star of the lineage. Though an impressive lineup, they serve as a backdrop to what is a compelling one-woman show.

Embarking on a European tour with her band in October before heading to Australia, this show is one not to be missed.