Watch Martin Guitar’s New Documentary ‘Ballad of the Dreadnought,’ featuring Vince Gill, Sturgill Simpson and More

In homage to creating the first dreadnought in 1916, Martin Guitars is commemorating the 100 year anniversary with a new documentary, The Ballad of the Dreadnought. Watch here.

Narrated by actor and Martin player Jeff Daniels, The Ballad of the Dreadnought traces the rise of the Martin Dreadnought from selling only a few dozen guitars for its first 20 years to becoming the musical companion played in almost every musical genre in every corner of the world.

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The film also features history-making dreadnought moments, such as Crosby, Stills and Nash performing at Woodstock with a D-45, and devoted artists Rosanne Cash, Roger McGuinn, Steve Miller, Vince Gill, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, and Del McCoury.

This year, Martin also released a D-222 100th Anniversary Dreadnought Edition, inspired by one of the first dreads, and has opened a new exhibit at its museum in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, dedicated to the history of the instrument.

Read about the fascinating history of Martin’s “big gun,” named after the H.M.S. Dreadnought, the biggest British battleship ever built.

Related Story: “Martin Dreadnought Inspires a Classic Rock Song”

Whitney Phaneuf
Whitney Phaneuf