J.M. Clifford (Fri)

J.M. Clifford is a singer-songwriter and music educator from Brooklyn, NY.  His music draws on Bluegrass, Folk and Americana.  Clifford recently won the grand prize at the Pensacola Beach Songwriter Festival and the Solarfest Festival.  He was a 3rd place finalist in the 2025 Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Contest.  

His debut record, “On a Saturday Night,” was featured in The Bluegrass Situation and received rave reviews from Bluegrass Today and Holler Country.  “Complicated Man,” the first single from his new record “Trains, Thinkin’ and Drinkin’”, made Ear to the Ground Music’s Top 20 songs of 2023 list.  

Clifford was an Official Showcase Artist at the 2023 IBMA Business Conference in Raleigh, NC.  His single “Slow Rolling Train” earned him a spot in the final round of the 2023 Rocky Mountain Songwriting Festival.  Clifford was also selected to perform at the 2022 and 2023 IBMA Songwriter Showcase.  He came in 2nd in the Podunk Songwriting Competition.  He was also a finalist in the 2024 American Songwriter Contest.

Clifford has toured nationally, opening shows for Ron Pope and Dar Williams.  He has performed at venues and festivals across the country, including:  The Bowery Ballroom, The Outpost in North Carolina, The Highlands Bluegrass Festival in New York, the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival, Podunk Bluegrass Festival, Ocean State Bluegrass Festival, CT River and Roots Festival, Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn, NY Lilly Ps in Cambridge, MA and Nick-A-Nees in Providence, RI.  

Clifford’s latest record, slated for release in 2026, was produced by platinum-selling artist Ron Pope.  Singles from his previous records have been featured on Spotify’s Indy Bluegrass, Grassroots and New Grass playlists and the Amazon Music’s Pickin’ On playlist.  When he’s not leading crowds in song, Clifford leads his students as a NYC elementary school music teacher.