Hi folks,

Spring hasn't really sprung here in Massachusetts, but it should be happening soon enough. I've got a few things happening in April and beyond.

I'm releasing two albums this month. I'll have them on CD at my gigs and you'll be able to stream both of them on Apple Music, Spotify and all other streaming services in the coming weeks. The albums collectively are called Saturday's Sins and Sunday's Psalms. Someone once told me that Nashville, TN has both the most bars and the most churches per capita of any city in America. The Saturday's Sins album is a bunch of old honky tonk songs about drinking, bad love and fighting. Sunday's Psalms are a bunch of old southern gospel hymns for repenting the next morning. I've had a blast making these records over the winter. You can listen to each record for free now on BandCamp by clicking on the album covers below. I'm really happy with how they came out.

I have a bunch of great gigs in April. I'll be playing a short set at Brighton Music Hall in Allston as part of a tribute at my longtime friend and musical mentor Rick Berlin's 80th birthday. I'm opening for the excellent Clem Snide at the Galactic Theater in Warren, Rhode Island and I'll be criss-crossing the state all month long, starting with concerts in Mattapoisett and Pembroke over the next week. You can find all gig info at http://mattyorksongsandstories.com/shows

If you haven't had a chance to grab a copy of my book/eBook (or read a sample), you can find it at http://linktr.ee/thewordsandwisdomofwillie. I've received some really great feedback on the book and I'm excited to be promoting it in the months ahead,

 
Photo by John Carrozza. Hanson, MA, March 2025

I've had a few people inquire about house concerts/private parties. I'll be doing some of those but primarily they'll just be in the Southeastern part of the state. If you might be interested in having me come there to play, please shoot me an email or call/text me at 781-953-6177.

Thanks for your support,

Matt York

www.mattyorkmusic.com

Hi folks,

Just a few quick updates as there's been a couple of concerts added and a ticketed concert that has been canceled.

This Saturday, March 22nd, I'll be at the Townsend Public Library for an author talk discussing the new book about Willie that I wrote at 12 PM. More info at https://townsendlibrary.org/

Next week, I'm at the Tyngsborough Old Town Hall on Wednesday, March 26th (Wed.) at 6 PM doing the songs of Willie. More info at https://www.tynglib.org/

March 27th (Thurs.) I'm doing two adult education courses  at the Snow Library in Orleans as part of their Lifetime Learning Series. This will be different from what I normally do in that I'll be sharing photos from my years performing over the years and performing songs that those images make me think of. More info at https://friendsofsnowlibrary.org/matt-york-troubadour-tales-songs/

March 27th (Thurs.) after the two concerts in Orleans, I'll be at the Lakeville LIbrary at 6 PM. More info on that can be found at https://www.lakevillelibrary.org/

A bunch of other shows up and listed on my website at www.mattyorksongsandstories.com

                                                                                  Photo by John Carrozza

Two quick notes on ticketed concerts:

My concert opening for Christine Ohlman in April at The Music Room in Yarmouth has been canceled. If you purchased advanced tickets, please reach out directly to the venue for a refund.

My musical mentor and longtime Boston rock legend Rick Berlin will be celebrating his 80th Birthday at the Brighton Music Hall in Allston (was Harper's Ferry for years). I'm playing a real short set (ten minutes) but it's a who's who of Boston artists (list below on flier) that will be doing similar short sets followed by Rick's full band performance. Rick's bands Orchestra Luna, Berlin Airlift and many others have made some of the most beautiful music this region has ever produced. Tickets for that at https://crossroadspresents.com/pages/brighton-music-hall

Thanks for your time! Lots of new music coming in the months ahead. Here's a sample www.soundcloud.com

Matt York

Hi folks,

March is here and I'm rapidly becoming a busier man than I've been the past couple of months. I've listed all concerts that are open to the public on my website at https://mattyorksongsandstories.com/shows. In short, in March I'll be coming to Abington, Hanson, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Orleans, Lakeville, Ludlow and Medway, as well as a number of private concerts.

      Shepherd Center for the Performing Arts, Fairhaven, MA Feb. 2025

I'm the cover boy (or cover middle-aged guy) on this month's Metronome Magazine, which has been a long-time music magazine in New England. It can be found at music shops all over and it's free (I don't think the article is available online unfortunately)

I've had a few people reach out about summer private concerts for parties/BBQs etc. I have an early private gig on the 4th of July but if someone is looking for music for their 4th celebration, let me know. I won't be venturing to far but if you're in SE Mass, feel free to call/text/email me at 781-953-6177 or at mattyorkpembroke@gmail.com. For other summer dates, if you're looking for a weekend, they are rapidly filling up so please connect with me if you're interested.

Further out, in April, I'm doing a couple of ticketed concerts of original music. One at The Music Room in Yarmouth, MA opening for Christine Ohlman and one at the Galactic Theater in Warren, Rhode Island opening for Clem Snide. More info on my shows page.

If you haven't listened to the two new songs I have out on Spotify or Apple Music, be sure to do so. You can also watch a new video for my single “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?” that my lifelong friend Rick Berlin did. The link for that is 

Here's an old gospel song that I performed at church this past Sunday. It was most famously done by both Jim Reeves and Elvis Presley. 

Thanks for your support,

Matt York

On Facebook at www.facebook.com/mattyorkboston

On Instagram at www.instagram.com/mattyorkboston

Hello folks,

The March, 2025 issue of Metronome Magazine is out now and features me on the cover (which is kinda cool). Metronome has been around forever and is only in print form. It's free and can be found in music shops all over New England. Pick up a copy at your local guitar or record shop.

 This is a video of a song written by the great Whitey Shafer and performed by George Strait and many others. 

Hi folks,

I hope you're all surviving the winter cold. I've got a lot of good stuff going on lately and hope you enjoy it.

My new single is out on all streaming platforms. It's an old Whitey Shafer song called “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?”.  If you use Spotify, Apple Music etc., please find it on there and follow me as well. You can listen to it now (for free) at this link.  

The Willie book is popping up in more stores and libraries (and the Willie Nelson Museum in Nashville!!!!). You can purchase it online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble or receive a signed copy of it at this link. For more book info, click on the photo of smiling me below : )

Upcoming Performances:

Feb. 1st (Sat.) at 1PM, I'll be doing an author talk and performing some Willie songs at the Wareham Public Library. It's free and I'll have books available for purchase. More info at https://www.warehamfreelibrary.org/

Feb. 8th (Sat.) at 7PM, I'll be performing in Fairhaven, MA at the Shepherd Center for the Performing Arts doing the songs of the Highwaymen. This is my first time there and I'll bringing a friend to play fiddle and sing harmonies. For those of you that have seen me at community concerts, this will be a little different. There will hopefully be some dancing to some walzes we've working on etc. Tickets are only $20 and can be purchased in advance or at the door. Ticket link is here or click on the photo below.

Feb. 15th (Sat.) at 1 PM I'm way out west at the Westfield Athenaeum. I'll be talking about the book and performing the songs of Willie. This is one of the nicest sounding rooms I've performed in. This concert is free. More info at https://www.westath.org/

There are some March dates that are already up my website and I'll be doing a ticketed concert at the Music Room in Yarmouth in April opening for the awesome Christine Ohlman.

Last thing then I'm done. I'm posting two YouTube videos below. The first song is my take on the fun truck-driving song by the Texas legend Junior Brown called “Semi-Crazy”. The second is a gospel song called “God Walks the Dark Hills”. If you like the videos, please subscribe to my channels (it's free).

Semi-Crazy - 

God Walks the Dark Hills - 

Thanks for your time and your support. It's much appreciated!

Matt York

www.facebook.com/mattyorkboston

www.instagram.com/mattyorkboston

Tickets on sale for February 8th at the Shepherd Center for the Performing Arts in Fairhaven, MA

The Highwaymen - Songs and Stories w/ Matt York comes to the Shepherd Center for the Performing Arts in Fairhaven, MA on February 8th at 7pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance this link. If you know a fan of Willie Cash or great country songs, please let people know about it. This is my first time coming to the Shepherd and I hope to have a great turnout. More info below. Also check out my shows page at this link. I'll be doing some author talks and also a bunch of concerts all over the state in February. 
 

Happy New Year folks,

I hope you're having a terrific holiday season. Just a few quick updates from me. January is my slowest month of the year and is the time when I do a lot of the scheduling of the upcoming year. This year will be no different. As always, if there's a place you think it might make sense for me to come and perform, please let me know and I'll try and make it happen. If you booked me in the past and are interested in having me return in 2025, shoot me an email at mattyorkpembroke@gmail.com or call/text me at 781-953-6177

Hello,

Happy to announce that my new book The Words and Wisdom of Willie Nelson is now available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and several other online distributors. You can read a sample or purchase the book/eBook at the link below. This book is short stories about Willie and the impact he's had on a lot of folks that I've met along the way. It's also about Massachusetts and the 150 different cities and towns that I've visited in recent years. I'm really happy with how it came out and if you know someone that loves Willie or country music, this might make a great Christmas gift. 
http://linktr.ee/thewordsandwisdomofwillie

If you are looking for info about the Songs and Stories concert series that I do on classic country artists like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and more, there's some info on this site, but I also have a site dedicated to it that you can find at http://www.mattyorksongsandstories.com.

With the recent passing of Kris Kristofferson, I was contact by NPR's Los Angeles affiliate to talk about Kris's career KCRW along w/ Beverly Keel - dean of the College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University and host Madeleine Brand. The segment runs about twelve minutes long and you can listen to it at this link. 

I have a few ticketed concerts coming up including Thursday, November 14th at The Cut in Gloucester, MA opening for the great JP Harris. https://thecutlive.com/

I'll be returning to First Night Chatham at the Chatham Drama Guild. For more info visit https://www.firstnightchatham.com/

Here's a short video where I talk about the new book about Willie and play part his classic song “Me and Paul”.

If you're stopping by to learn more about Matt York - Songs and Stories, the video below will give you a good sense of what to expect. I do versions focused on Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, the Highwaymen and more. In 2025, I plan on doing a lot of concerts covering old classic country and honky-tonk artists and their songs. I'll cover and perform the songs of Patsy Cline, Hank Williams Sr. and many, many others. If you visit my other website www.mattyorksongsandstories.com, you'll find a lot more videos. If you have any questions, please click on the contact button and I'll get right back to you.

Just  a quick update on where I'll be in October. I have a number of private concerts, but there are still gigs all over the state that are all free. You can find the list of those at https://mattyorksongsandstories.com/shows. 

I'm doing a lot of booking of holiday concerts in the weeks ahead (in fact, I have a half a dozen holiday concerts booked for 2025 already!) for late November/December, so if you're interested let me know. You can reach me at mattyorkpembroke@gmail.com or 781-953-6177. I do a lot of community holiday concerts, but also do corporate parties/private parties etc., so if you're interested, it's just me singing Christmas songs/winter songs. I did seventeen of them last December and I really loved doing them.

I've been saying my Willie Nelson book will be available soon for almost a year, but that time is about to arrive and I expect that people will be able to pre-order it in October. In the interim, if you'd like to grab my book about the Highwaymen (or read a preview of it), you can do so through Amazon at this link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9VWQJKG or Barnes & Noble (paperback only) at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-highwaymen-songs-stories-matt-york/1145567080

That's all I've got for you! The video this month is an old country song made famous by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn that I've been singing a lot lately. It's called “After the Fire is Gone”. 

Thanks for your support and I hope to see you somewhere down the road!