If you've noticed I've been posting stuff about the Highwaymen and aren't really clear that that's all about, I had an opportunity to speak w/ the Boston Globe about it. You can read the article at this link. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/08/04/metro/pembroke-musician-takes-highwaymen-road/

I've received some really great press and radio airplay for my new album Gently Used. Below are some reviews.I did a  full band show (with my wife on bass) at Heritage Days in Scituate this past Saturday. I haven't done a full band gig since before COVID and I've always enjoyed attending Heritage Days, so it was cool to be a part of....cool is the wrong word though, because it was about seven million degrees onstage. Nonetheless, this picture above of me singing with my daughters was worth the heat stroke. 

I'll also be doing solo gigs at Levitate Backyard in Marshfield on Friday, August 12nd and at Bridgewater Music Alley on Thursday, August 25th. If you'd like info on Highwaymen gigs, please visit www.mattyorksongsandstories.com. I'll be doing a slew of Highwaymen gigs in August. 

Recent praise for Gently Used:

Twangville https://twangville.com/40739/a-little-boston-in-your-attitude-a-special-boston-playlist/  

York calls in some Nashville players (contributing remotely during the pandemic), including Joshua Hedley on fiddle and Spencer Cullum, Jr. on pedal steel. “If You Want Love”, in particular, benefits from their contributions. But make no mistake, it’s York and his songs that are the stars here. 

https://globaltexanchronicles.com/matt-york-gently-used/ 

And no matter if you’re already a fan of York’s open book songwriting or you’re new to his journey, you’ll find tracks like the sawdust floor swing of opener “If You Want Love”, the Kris Kristofferson vibes of “Let’s Try Failure” or Ray Wylie Hubbard-style of the title track “Gently Used” all to your liking. But these songs are just a small example of the authenticity throughout this 11-track LP worth getting into. 

Americana UK https://americana-uk.com/matt-york-gently-used 

“simply beautiful with its generous sentiment and stunning guitar & piano duet ‘Gently Used‘ could well be York’s breakthrough song” 

Bill Copeland Music News  

https://www.billcopelandmusicnews.com/2022/06/matt-yorks-gently-used-is-a-ruggedly-beautiful-album/ 

Matt York continues to release these larger than life Americana roots albums, expressions of high emotions, beautifully rendered by tasteful use of voice and instruments. Gently Used, York’s best yet, flies high because he gives each song a freewheeling, unwieldy sense of joy and largeness. Produced by Thomas Wenzi at Bitch Kitty Studios in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, listeners will find these songs irresistible to their ears and to their souls. 

The Amp https://turnuptheamp.com/home/2022/6/5/matt-york-gently-used 

York has a style of his own, blending elements of country, folk, and rock’n’roll. Spinning one track to the next, you’ll find a delightful listening experience in what York and his dynamite team of players have crafted.  

Glide Magazine 

https://glidemagazine.com/272634/song-premiere-matt-york-drops-incisive-jewel-gently-used-off-gently-used-out-jun-3rd/ 

 Gently Used bears all the hallmarks of masters at work — a timeless Americana listening experience crafted at the crossroads of York’s songcraft and his ace studio band lending their own flourishes. 

Route 66 (Barcelona, Spain) https://www.ruta66.es/2022/07/discomatico/matt-york-gently-used-autoeditado/ 

Gently Used» o «Baby Doll» vamos a darnos cuenta de que todo no es una fiesta country rock, sino que el tipo es capaz de manejar diversos sonidos. De ahí el apunte del Herald a Westerberg, que quizá se aparece ligeramente en temas como «Up And Dow» o «Know You Love Me» igual que Adam Duritz en «Word On The Street» o «The Perfect Crime». En cualquier caso, que desde su independencia nos siga dando aleghrías como esta, ya es muy destacable. 

Hello all,

If you are looking for information on the The Highwaymen - Songs & Stories Project, click here. 

Excited to announce my new album "Gently Used" is now out. You can listen to it on all streaming services by clicking here. 

My lifelong friend (and Boston rock n roll legend) Rick Berlin produced three videos for my new album. I love all of them. This one is my favorite. I wrote the song " Baby Doll" during the beginning of the pandemic. At that time, a lot of non-violent offenders were being released from prison to try and limit the spread of COVID. The song is about someone that gets out but has no place to go. He just goes around trying to meet a woman that will let him stay with her. You can watch the video by clicking below. It doesn't get much more Boston than this.

I'm doing a slew of Highwaymen gigs the next two months (not sure what this is? Click here) but am looking forward to opening up for the always excellent Christine Ohlman at The Music Room in Yarmouth, MA on July 9th. Advance tickets for that can be found at https://musicroomcapecodtickets.com/events/christine-ohlman-07092022/

Thanks for stopping by and have a great summer!

Hello,

If you're looking for Highwaymen info, I've got a boatload of gigs coming up that can be found over on www.mattyorksongsandstories.com.

The video for my new single "If You Want Love" is out now. The video was made by my lifelong friend Rick Berlin. The track features Tim Dinneen on drums, Taylor Hollingsworth on lead guitar, Joshua Hedley on fiddle and Spencer Cullum Jr. on pedal steel.

I'll be opening for Arlo McKinley on Friday, May 13th at the brand new music room at Off the Rails in Worcester. Doors at 6 and I'm on around 8pm. Advanced tickets can be purchased at https://offtherailsworcester.com/ticketweb-event-detail-1/11974245/Arlo+McKinley/

I'll have a third single coming out on May 13th and the full album will be released digitally on June 3rd. 

Thanks for stopping by!

If you're looking for Highwaymen information, please visit www.mattyorksongsandstories.com.

My new single is out today (April 1st) everywhere that music is streamed. You can listen to it here. 

Glide Magazine premiered the song and video earlier this week, saying "Matt York sounds like he could be a regular at Billy Bob’s in Texas or any Nashville club". Read their whole review and watch the new video at this link. 

I have a fairly light gig schedule in April because I'm doing a bunch of Highwaymen gigs (find those here)

I'll be heading north to perform in Toronto on April 17th. I'll be at The Communist's Daughter on Dundas Street. Show begins at 5pm. For more info, visit their Facebook page. 

I'll also be at Off the Rails in Worcester on April 14th from 6:30 to 9:30.

I'll also be at Troy City Brewery on April 29th (Friday) in Fall River, which is one of my favorite breweries.

I hope you'll check out the new music and thanks for stopping by.

- Matt

If you're looking for info on The Highwaymen - Songs and Stories, click here.

The first single from my new album will be out on April 1st. The song is called "Gently Used" (which is also the name of the album). There will also be a video released for it. 

I've got a couple of great shows coming up in Rhode Island.

I'll be opening for Christine Ohlman at The Knickerbocker Music Center in Westerly, Rhode Island on Saturday, March 26th.  www.knickmusic.com. 

On Sunday, March 27th, I'll be opening up for Ordinary Elephant as Askew in Providence. For more info visit www.askewprov.com. 

Hi folks,

I had some really great shows in January and I thank you all for your support. If you've stopped by to find out more info on The Highwaymen - Songs and Stories, I now a website dedicated to that which you can view at www.mattyorksongsandstories.com

There's a bunch of show coming up. For more info on those, please visit my Shows page.

I had an opportunity to interview and perform on 95.9 WATD's Almost Famous this week. I performed six songs, talked about the music life and what's ahead in 2022. John Shea, who is the host of Almost Famous, does a great job of recording these. It's about 48 minutes long and one of my daughters joins me for a song. If you'd like to listen, click the link below. The YouTube link shows me performing one of the songs. 

Almost Famous w/ Matt York

If you haven't joined by mailing list, please consider doing so. There's a box to enter your information on the main screen or you can click the contact form. You can also find on social media at @mattyorkboston on FB, IG and Twitter.

Thanks!

Folks we need to reschedule the Foxboro show that was scheduled for this Friday, January 21st due a family member of mine testing positive for COVID. The new date is Saturday, February 5th at 7:30. Tickets can be purchased at www.orpheum.org.

First off, if you are looking for information on The Highwaymen - Songs and Stories, there's a lot of info about that on this site, but I've also created a separate website that is dedicated to it. That website is www.mattyorksongsandstories.com.

A few updates. I've got a bunch of shows in January and hopefully COVID will not prevent them from taking place. For more info on January gigs, please visit the Shows page. 

I'm excited to return to two great New England rooms, the historic Stone Church in Newmarket, New Hampshire on Wednesday, January 26th. I'll also be returning to The Porch Southern Fare and Juke Joint in Medford, MA on Saturday, January 29th.

My new album, Where the Hard Part Starts, will be coming out in May. There will be some singles coming out before then though. I'm looking forward to finally getting that music out to the world.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays folks!

First off, a lot of people ask how they can help indie musicians in these weird times where people listen to the music through streaming services, there's apprehension about going out to see live music etc. Well, you can click on my Link Tree  and follow me on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and/or social media. That helps me get the word out about upcoming music and gigs, which there are plenty of in 2022. You can also go to the top of my website and join my mailing list. I only email every month or two generally. Now onto a winter update

I'll be all over New England in December and January. If you are part of an LCC and looking for more information on the Highwaymen, please scroll down to the November update which has a bunch of information about that.

In January, I'll be bringing the HIghwaymen - Songs and Stories to the Marilyn Rodman Performing Arts Center in Foxborough. Mass. The date is January 21st. Advanced tickets can be purchased at www.orpheum.org

Thanks and hope to see you soon. If you haven't signed up for my mailing list, you can do so at the top of this page.

Recent Highwaymen Songs and Stories at The Boyden Library in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Here's an article written by Jay Miller of The Patriot Ledger talking about a bunch of what's been going on with the music life. A lot of stuff about the Highwaymen project I've been working on, as well as a lot of talk about the new album and the ever-changing musical landscape. If you are from a Massachusetts LCC and looking for info about the Highwaymen - Songs and Stories, scroll to the October update below for a lot of information.  Thanks for stopping by. Click here to read the Ledger article or click the picture below.

Hello all,

This update will be a little different than most. If you're a member of a Local Cultural Council in Massachusetts, there's a bunch of information below and at this link talking more about "Songs and Stories - The Highwaymen". For LCC members, most of the information you're likely seeking is in my responses on the LCC application. However, I just wanted to mention a couple of things about the project as well. First off, if you're curious, click on the one of the videos below. That'll give you a sense of the music and stories that are covered. This series is something I began doing right before COVID and then started back up again in the springtime. It's not a lecture, it's not a concert per se, it's me telling stories and singing songs about the four country stars that made up the country supergroup The Highwaymen. Country musician Marty Stuart once said about Johnny Cash that “There are two kinds of people, there's those who like Johnny Cash, and those that will.” The same could be said of the other members of the band as well. The band consisted of Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. I weave stories about their careers with some of their greatest songs. One of the things that made their stories so unusual, is that they all lived incredibly full lives. They all grew up poor, three of the four served in military, all of them battled alcoholism and drug issues. All of them were considered "outlaws" yet also made religious music and faith was a big part of their lives. They also wrote some of the greatest country songs of all-time, changed the shape of popular music and did so on their own terms. There are some video links to the project. One of the things that's been nice about this, is that the crowd has varied in age and it's been something that couples have enjoyed attending together. My goal is to visit as many towns as I can doing this in 2022. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at mattyorkpembroke@gmail.com or call/text me at 781-953-6177.

For those of you seeking a normal music update, I've got some great shows coming up this fall. I'm really looking forward to opening for Nashville's Jeremy Pirnell on October 17th at Askew in Providence, Rhode Island. That should be a great night of music.

There are two videos below.  

This video is both an interview and performance I did on Whitman Hanson Community Access . The first 5-10 minutes are me talking about how the Highwaymen performances first came about. The remainder of the video is me performing for a a small crowd at the Whitman Senior Center. It's a good example of what these gigs usually are like. Thanks to Paul at Whitman Hanson Community Access for recording them.

The video below was shot at City Winery in NYC and is of a song  written by Billy Joe Shaver and made famous by Waylon Jennings.