About Matthew:

Matthew Morgan is on a mission to prove to the world that alternative folk can be embraced by the LBTQIA+ community, that a singer-songwriter from the heartland can compose words expressing anti-racist sentiment, and that a great sounding country song can carry a deeper message without relying on overused and outdated tropes! Refusing to be labeled, or pigeon-holed into genderized, racialized, or any other “-ized” stereotypes he joins the ranks of simliar progressive singer songrwriters such as Orville Peck, Crys Matthews, and Willy Carlisle. 

A powerful force in the current milieu of social justice songwriters his warm tenor voice floats above delicate arrangements conveying a feeling of great depth and his songs feel less like stories than paintings. Popdose writes, “There's something significant about a poignant troubadour who leaves his heart on the table and bares his soul without reserve. The kind of voice and talent that's hardly born, let alone hearalded these days.” 

Matthew released his debut CD with Chicago’s acoustic indie label, CAUDog Records in 2012 immediately going on tour around the Midwest and Southern US states in cohort with his band, The Lost Brigade. The touring resulted in sold out shows headlining at Chicago's famous Double Door nightclub and House of Blues and opportunities to share the stage with more notorious acts at music festivals including opening for Dave Davies (The Kinks) and Company of Thieves at Taste of Lincoln Ave (Chicago) and SXSW (Austin) in 2013.

Seeking a more introspective sound to his song craft Morgan parted ways with The Lost Brigade in 2014 and recorded a new solo EP that was released independently the following year. While The Lost Brigade's sound was indebted to contemporary indie rockers like Wilco and The Decemberists, the “Empathy for Inanimate Objects” EP calls to mind the happier moments of Elliott Smith or the open-ended ponderings of Tom Brousseau. Empathy as a whole was very well received and Morgan garnered his first published reviews and the inclusion in the "Best of 2015" by the Nashville Music Guide. A new “Family” band was formed and the empathy tour resulted in venues of greater status including an opening slot for Ben Ottewell (of Gomez) and a chance to debut at Chicago's premiere music club, The Metro. 

However, things were about to change radically in both good and bad ways. A new relationship would blossom into marriage, but the joyfulness of newfound love would be  stifled by the grief of losing a parent to illness, further compounded by the global pandemic. Like many artists, Matthew would take this time off to look inward and take stock of the things that really matter. The result of this reflection would be a brand new album, 'Timepiece' composed of songs crafted as a testament; a time capsule to document the highs and lows of living through one of the most challenging and significant periods in modern history.

 

 

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