Obviously, not much to report seeing that we remain in the midst of pandemic. However, nearly five years ago, I went into the studio and recorded the Boston, Texas album with my friend Mark Chen Bryant. Mark is doing a podcast with some acts that he’s produced over the years. He had me on recently to talk about the making of the album. It was a lot of fun to go back and listen to the record and chat about it. You can listen at the link below. Hopefully, I'll be adding some gigs soon. Currently still just in a holding pattern. Stay safe everyone!
Since we're in the midst of a pandemic, I'm obviously not playing any gigs for the foreseeable future. I miss being out there and playing shows obviously. In the interim, I'm releasing a new single called "Scent of Sin".It's obviously a weird time to release a new song....but that's what I'm doing. I finished recording the tracks for this song two nights before life changed for everyone in March. At the time, I was preparing to head to Austin, TX to play some shows at SXSW and then make my way across Texas for some shows in Louisiana. Obviously, life comes at you fast.
Anyways, I hope you'll take a listen.It's up on all streaming services now. You can click below to listen.
I've also recorded a new song called "I'm Leaving" as part of the Lakehouse Music and Stories Series. Click the link below to listen.
Below is my NPR Tiny Desk Contest entry. Obviously, all the shows are currently canceled/postponed. It's pretty unclear when that will change, so I'll be doing some online concerts. If you are on Facebook, be sure to follow me at www.facebook.com/mattyorkboston
The links below are to a couple of recent articles. One is a write-up of the Bruisable Heart album from Oklahoma Reviews and the other talks about life as a socially distant musician. Be safe everyone!
Due to the COVID-19 virus, I’ll not be traveling to Texas and Louisiana for my shows next week. It’s a really disappointing thing to write. I had a great time down there last year and was really looking forward to returning. I’ll hopefully be doing my Rhode Island and Massachusetts dates in late March and April. However, obviously things are very much in flux for all of us.
One thing I want to mention. Is that there are a boatload of independent musicians that are going to be struggling here in the coming months. An awful lot of musicians I perform with, make very little money, have no safety net/day job and are facing an uncertain spring. If there’s a band/songwriter you love, and you’re in a position to help, go to their website and buy an album or a t-shirt or twenty t-shirts. Anything will help them. Don’t worry about me. I still have to work a day job. Be safe everyone!
I've got a busy March. On March 14th, I'll be performing at the Newport Playhouse in Newport, R.I. as part of a benefit for the tornado victims in Nashville. Doors open at 6pm, Music at 7, $10 cover and a great line-up.
I'll be returning to Austin, Texas for SXSW. I'll be playing three shows in Austin (more info on those on the "Shows" page) on March 18th and 19th. I then head east to beautiful Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I'll be returning to the 3rd Street Songwriters Festival. Still working out the details of when/where I'll be performing in both Austin and Baton Rouge, so be sure to check back in the coming days for more info.
At the end of the month, I'll be performing at The Knickerbocker Tap Room in Westerly, R.I. on Sunday, March 29th. For more info, click here.
If you head over to the videos page, you can watch a couple of recent performances I did at Country 102.5 FM in Boston.
Thanks to Country 102.5 and Carolyn Kruse for making me their Local Artist of the Week. Click here https://country1025.com/2020/02/catch-of-the-week-matt-york/ to watch/hear two new songs that I recorded when I visited with them and an interview. I’ll be playing this Sunday night 2/16, opening for Nashville’s excellent Eliot Bronson at @theporchsouthern in Medford, MA. I’m on around 7 p.m. followed by Eliot.
I had a great time in New York playing some gigs. After this weekend's show, I'll be off for a few weeks. I'll be in Texas and Louisiana in March though. More info on that coming soon!
Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by. I'll be all over the place in 2020. Later this month, I'll be at The Porch in Medford, MA, The Shrine in Harlem, NY and The Waylon just outside of Times Square. For more info, head over to my shows page.
I'm also back in the studio and will be adding a bunch of gigs in the coming weeks. If you have an interest in booking me for a gig or to do a house concert, please shoot me an email at mattyorkpembroke@gmail.com. Also, if you haven't had a chance to check out the new album, Bruisable Heart, you can do so by visiting the music page. It's all available on all streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora.
iThanks for all the support in 2019. It’s been a busy year. I performed in eleven states ranging from northern Maine to Austin, Texas. Have more travels planned for 2020 as well.
Merry Christmas!
First off, I was excited to have my album, Bruisable Heart, including on Boston.com's List of Best Albums of 2019. They wrote "On his latest sad masterpiece, the Pembroke singer-songwriter applies his easygoing, rambling style to characters grappling with lost love, the specter of addiction and a general inability to deal with the commitments that go along with having a stable life. It’s heavy stuff, but fortunately York marries the keenly observant nature of his songwriting with an appealing country-rock sensibility. Every track on the album is an eminently listenable on its own, even if it feels like they all take place in the same troubled world". You can read the article here.
I’m finishing up 2019 with a show at the awesome Galactic Theatre in Bristol, R.I. on December 19th at 9 p.m. I played the Galactic recently for the first time and I can see why so many people love playing there. It’s a great room.
I’ll have a couple of weeks off over the holidays and then will be back in action with gigs in R.I., Massachusetts and New York City in January.
I’m running a special on t-shirts and CDs. For $25, you can get a t-shirt and a copy of the new Bruisable Heart album. That includes free shipping anywhere in the United States. If you’re interested, either Venmo me at @mattyorkboston or PayPal @wideirisboston@yahoo.com. Also include shirt color/size and shipping address and I’ll get it right out to you. Any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at mattyorkpembroke@gmail.com.
November 7th I'll be at The Porch Southern Fare and Juke Joint in Medford, MA from 8-10.
November 11th - I'll be at The C Note on Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA for a benefit for Musicians for Opiate Awareness. I'm on early (2:30 p.m.). Doors are at 1:00 and it's a great lineup of music. For more info, visit www.cnotehull.com.
I'll be adding more dates here in the coming weeks.
I had a great time chatting with Chuck and Ronnie at their Above the Basement podcast recently. You can click here to listen. The interview runs about forty-five minutes and I also perform a couple of songs on acoustic.
I'm back in action with a few gigs over the next week or so:
I'm be at Askew in Providence, Rhode Island on Wednesday, October 16th. Music starts at 6 p.m. I'm on around 7:15. For more info, visit www.askewprov.com.
The next night (Thursday, October 17th), I'm at The Porch Southern Fare and Juke Joint from 6-8 in Medford, MA. For more info, visit www.theporchsouthern.com.
On October 24th, I'll be at the Galactic Theatre in Bristol, R.I. Music starts at 9 p.m. For more info, visit www.galactictheatre.com.
The album, Bruisable Heart, is now available everywhere. To listen, click here.
