Pickin' Pear

Tia Martini and Leon Elam - The Pickin’ Pear - branch out from Canyon Collected to create a folk 'n' roll duo. They combine their non-traditional stylings to their traditional instruments and create an original mix of modern American music. Together the Pickin’ Pear take the banjo and ukulele down the road of folk, rock, and bluegrass. Sometimes the ukulele will even launch you straight to outer space. A blend of top-notch songwriting and improvisational jamming makes each one of their songs sound unique. The Pickin' Pear are bringing their organic and all natural blend of folk 'n' roll all across the U.S. in 2019. Tia and Leon are excited to share their songs and stories at amazing venues from sea to sea. Since meeting in 2014 the couple has played over 500 shows together with their multiple projects. 2019 is shaping up to be a big one as they prepare to release a new album and tour new parts of the U.S. The pair met briefly at a Yonder Mountain String Band concert in Boulder, CO on New Years Eve 2012/2013. It was a brief encounter but an important one! They met again in 2014 at Chiller's Bar & Grill in Loveland, CO. Tia was still only a year or so into playing her ukulele and she was working on getting gigs with a couple guitar players she knew from Longmont. They worked out a deal to try out for a weekend gig at Chiller's by performing on a Wednesday night right before Leon's weekly open mic started. Since few people hardly ever came to Leon's open mic he was excited to invite the band to play along and sing some songs together. The guitar player's opted out but Tia was very excited to get to jam with a banjo! Together, they played all night long at Chiller's, trading songs and teaching each other the chord changes. That happened week after week and Tia quickly became an important member of Canyon Collected. In November 2016 the happy couple decided to get engaged! In August of 2017, instead of having a wedding they decided it'd be best to quit their jobs and move into a minivan with their dog Cassidy. With a simple goal of trying to bring joy into the world every day, these troubadours travel and perform for audiences across the country with starry eyes and big dreams of making a life out of love and music. Most of 2018 was spent bouncing between Pickin' Pear tour and amazing shows with Canyon Collected. A couple highlights included opening for a sold out crowd at the Mishawaka Amphitheater in Bellvue, CO and Pickin' Pear opening for Fruition at Pine Creek Lodge in Livingston, MT. In January 2018 they spent a couple days at the historic Royal Studios with JD Westmoreland of Rumpke Mountain Boys and grammy award winning Lawrence ‘Boo’ Mitchell. In January 2019 they finished recording their first full length album at The Cathedral Studios in Cincinnati, OH and Lane Gibson Studios in Burlington, VT. On the record they wanted to show the direction they wish their band to grow by bringing in Matt Wolff from Indiana ska band Dissonance & Dissent to join them on the 5 string electric bass. They are hoping to tour extensively in 2019 in support of their new release Feels Like Home. The Pickin' Pear has been lucky enough to perform with Fruition, The Rumpke Mountain Boys, Old Salt Union, David Gans, The Sweet Lillies, Cascade Crescendo, River Valley Rangers, Restless Leg String Band, Band of Comerados, Jack Cloonan Band, Devil Train, Naughty Sweethearts, Bluegrass Sweethearts, Tyler T. and The Common Clay and many more. With the full band project, Canyon Collected they've played with The Travelin' McCourys, Fruition, Dustbowl Revival, Steve N Seagulls, Wood & Wire, Kitchen Dwellers, Lil Smokies, Trout Steak Revival and so many more!