An Evening With Steve Martin & Alison Brown +

+ American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets from Thu 8/6 10:30AM through Sat 8/8 11AM

The Grammy Museum is thrilled to welcome Grammy Award-winning musician and actor Steve Martin and Grammy Award-winning banjoist Alison Brown to the Museum’s intimate 200-seat Clive Davis Theater for an evening discussing their recently released album, Safe, Sensible and Sane, their collaborative and creative process, and more, with a special performance. 

The debut collaborative album from Alison Brown and Steve Martin, Safe, Sensible and Sane is a body of work born from a shared enchantment with the singular beauty of the banjo. After scoring a No. 1 hit with the first track they ever wrote together (“Foggy Morning Breaking,” from Brown’s 2023 LP On Banjo), the two GRAMMY-winning musicians began dreaming up a batch of banjo-led songs built on Brown’s daringly inventive melodies and Martin’s idiosyncratic yet ineffably tender lyrics. As they explored the subtlest dimensions of the banjo’s tonality, the duo tapped into such eclectic inspirations as Brazilian music and Celtic folk, adding even more depth and color to the album’s exquisitely offbeat patchwork of stories. With guest appearances from luminaries like Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, Indigo Girls, and more, Safe, Sensible and Sane ultimately makes for a mesmerizing new turn in the evolution of banjo music.

“With the banjo there are so many styles you can work with, but Alison and I both have an ear for its more melodic, melancholy aspect,” says Martin. “Whenever she’d send me a tune I always loved the process of fitting my lyrics to her melodies, because those melodies were all so unusual.” “One of the things I find most interesting about this project is that it could be perceived as a songwriter record rather than a banjo record,” Brown adds. “But to me it’s so deeply rooted in the banjo, because only another banjo player would hear the nuance in the melodies. Even if it’s not always obvious, the banjo is at the core of all this music.”

Tracked live at Compass Sound Studio (the historic studio at Compass Records’ Nashville headquarters, owned and operated by Brown and her husband, bassist/producer Garry West), Safe, Sensible and Sane includes standouts such as “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back,” feat. Tim O’Brien—a warm and timeless track nominated for Song of the Year, Collaborative Performance of the Year, and Music Video of the Year at the 2025 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards, where Brown also received a nomination for Banjo Player of the Year. It also includes “Dear Time,” featuring Jackson Browne, which Billboard Magazine named one of the top 100 songs of 2025.

Over the course of their collaboration, Martin and Brown have scored four #1 songs on the bluegrass charts and, this year, received four additional IBMA Award nominations for tracks from Safe, Sensible and Sane, including Song of the Year, Collaborative Recording of the Year, and Music Video of the Year for “New Cluck Old Hen” featuring Della Mae—a playful, reimagined Appalachian banjo tune. They also received a nomination for Instrumental Recording of the Year for their rousing double-banjo tune, “Let’s Get Out Of Here,” and Brown picked up another nomination for Banjo Player of the Year.

In shaping the album’s intricately detailed but freewheeling sound, Brown and Martin worked with over two dozen of the roots-music world’s most renowned players, including legends like mandolinist Sam Bush and fiddle player Stuart Duncan as well as virtuosic young stars like Molly Tuttle and Sierra Hull. Co-produced by Brown and West, the result is a dazzling addition to a collective discography comprised of Brown’s 12 acclaimed solo albums and Martin’s expansive catalog (including his 2009 musical debut The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo and critically lauded collaborative albums with Edie Brickell and Steep Canyon Rangers).

  PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT DETAILS FOR THIS EVENT:

• Only bags 9 inches x 6 inches and smaller will be allowed for this event. 
• Vinyl, memorabilia, gifts, etc. will NOT be allowed inside the building. 
• Cameras (including digital and point and shoot cameras), video cameras, and any other professional photography & videography equipment will NOT be permitted for this event. 
• NO re-entry from the Grammy Museum premises.
• Valid physical ID is necessary for check-in. 
• Tickets are non-transferrable. Reselling tickets is strictly prohibited. 

Member Check – In: 6:30pm

Nonmember Check – In / Doors: 7:00pm

Show Time: 7:30pm

American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets from Thu 8/6 10:30AM through Sat 8/8 11AM.

Amex Presale Tickets®

American Express® Card Members have access to purchase Amex Presale Tickets® for select events and select seats, during a specified period prior to the general on-sale dates for those events. Tickets must be purchased using an American Express Card. An American Express Prepaid Card cannot be used to purchase tickets. Amex Presale Tickets® are sold by and fulfilled by third party ticket sellers (not American Express), and such tickets are subject to the rules, terms and conditions, prices and fees set by the ticket seller, event promoter and/or the venue. Amex Presale Tickets® are subject to availability and supply may be limited. Not all seats may be offered; purchase limits and blackout dates may apply. Refunds, exchanges, and resale may be prohibited by the ticket seller. For more information, please visit americanexpress.com/entertainment 

BAG POLICY: please note that only bags 9 inches x 6 inches and smaller will be allowed for this event. Vinyl, memorabilia, gifts, etc. will also not be allowed inside the building.   

TICKET POLICY

The holder of this ticket is granted admission to the indicated facility for the purpose of viewing the specified event. This ticket is for use by the holder only and the holder is bound by this policy. This ticket is not transferable and may not be sold, otherwise conveyed or used for any other purpose, including promotion or commercial, without the prior written consent of The Recording Academy. If this ticket is sold, otherwise conveyed or used in violation of this policy, it will be deemed revoked and void, and its holder deemed a trespasser at all Recording Academy events. This ticket is a revocable license and admission may be refused by refunding the face amount of the ticket or ejection may occur for failure to comply with any facility rule. The holder agrees not to transmit or aid in transmitting any description, picture, recording or reproduction of the event. The holder acknowledges that the event may be captured and recorded by audio, audiovisual, and/or photographic means, and hereby grants permission to utilize the holder’s image and/or voice in any and all media now known or hereafter devised to further the interests and mission of the Recording Academy. It is unlawful to reproduce this ticket in any form. The Holder assumes all risks incidental to the event, whether occurring prior to, during or after the event, and releases the facility, management, all participants and each of their affiliates, employees, officers, directors, members, partners, owners, managers, sponsors, contractors and agents from any loss, damage or expense resulting from any such risk. The Recording Academy reserves all legal rights and remedies. Save money on ticketing fees next time by becoming a GRAMMY Museum member! More info at grammymuseum.org.

ALL TICKETS ARE WILL-CALL ONLY AND PHYSICAL VALID I.D IS NECESSARY FOR CHECK-IN.

NO TICKETS ARE DISTRIBUTED. NO TICKET TRANSFERS. NO REFUNDS.

EVENT TIME, DATE, DETAILS, & PRICE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTE THAT TICKETS ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE AND RESELLING TICKETS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. 

 All ticket purchases must follow the stated ticket limits listed on the ticketing page, regardless of what type of ticket was purchased. Any purchases that exceed the maximum will be adjusted, and the cost of additional ticket(s) will be refunded. This policy applies to all guests, including GRAMMY Museum members. Ticket limits per program are subject to change at any time and at the discretion of the GRAMMY Museum. All member tickets must be purchased using the member’s name, which should match the photo ID presented at check-in. Members must attend the program with their guest(s) and guests will only be allowed entry if the member is present and attending the program.