Howdy!
Hope you are doing well. Two great ticketed concerts for June have been added. I'll be returning to City Winery Boston on Saturday, June 8th doing the songs and stories of Johnny Cash. This is a part of the brunch concert series the Winery is doing. Food there is great, it is a beautiful listening room and you are steps away from the North End/Quincy Market, so it's pretty cool. Tickets can be found at this link. https://citywinery.com/boston/events/matt-york-sings-the-songs-of-johnny-cash-hltbav
On Thursday, June 13th, I have the real honor of opening for Rhett Miller of the Old 97's at Alchemy in Providence, Rhode Island. I'll get more long-winded about the Old 97's below, but you can purchase tickets now at this link.
I'm excited to announce that my album of Willie Nelson songs is now available. The album is called Peace in the Valley and is a collection of songs of his that I love. I recorded it over the winter and I'll have CDs available at shows. You can stream the album for free at https://mattyorkboston.bandcamp.com/album/peace-in-the-valley-the-songs-of-willie-nelson . You can also download it there if you would like. It was a lot of fun to make and kept me busy over the winter months. If you want me to mail you a copy, email me back and we'll figure something out : )
I have had some really great shows in recent weeks and am grateful for your support. If you are interested in some really great high quality video/audio w/ full band from my concert at the Fallout Shelter in Norwood, MA, you can visit https://www.youtube.com/live/SROLAUIG6Oc?si=orH74SX2SaNKa-QL This concert is the songs of The Highwaymen and during the middle portion I do some solo songs as well. It was my first time there, it was sold-out and literally everything was first class. Just a bunch of good people doing good stuff. If you're in that area and have never been, it's a great spot to catch a show. Their website is https://www.extendedplaysessions.com
This month's YouTube video is my version of a song by a young Texas artist named Ellis Bullard. His music is Texas through and through and you can learn more about him at https://www.ellisbullardmusic.com.
Here's a link to my version of his great song “Lucky You, Lucky Me, My Unlucky Ways".
If you like my dumb stories, here's a quick one about the Old 97's and their lead singer Rhett Miller.
Rhett Miller/Old 97's - In 1996, my band was preparing to perform at TT the Bears in Cambridge for the first time. An iconic and sadly now-defunct room that maybe could fit 250 people. The weekend before we were playing there, we decided to check out a show. The Old 97's, from Austin, Texas, headlined and had a spirit and fierceness to their music that was astonishing. I can't remember if I was already a fan of theirs or if I just knew their name. Over the years, I played that club many, many times and saw many more shows there. I never saw TT's the way it was that night. The fact that the roof didn't come off the place that night is still astonishing to me. They wrote (and continue to write) hooky songs that are both twangy and rock n' roll. I was not a country guy as a kid and the Old 97's (along w/ Steve Earle and Willie) were really the artists that led me into this world of classic country music.
Rhett Miller's about my age and is the lead singer/rhythm guitarist of the band and a truly incredible frontman. I've seen him perform 5-6 times as an acoustic solo act and he's always great. A funny guy with whip-smart songs. In 1996, Waylon Jennings also saw the Old 97's, he also loved them and they decided to record an album together. Jennings was in poor health and they only completed two songs but you can find them online. The songs were not released until many years later. I hope to have the opportunity to talk with Rhett the night of the concert and ask him about those sessions. Here's an old video of the band from the Tonight Show. Click this link.
Thanks for your support,
