Matt Stillwell’s move to Nashville was the ultimate eye-opener.
“I watched friends do showcases and hope someone would show up,” he says. “I watched them being promised record or publishing deals that might or might not happen. So I made the decision that what I needed to do was to eliminate the ‘no’s, and the way to do that was to go build a following.”
A man with a work ethic as big as his talent, Matt did just that, and in this age of American Idol and viral videos, he has built his following the old-fashioned way–one city, one club, one crowd at a time.
He grew up in Sylva, North Carolina, an outdoors paradise that is home to some of the best bluegrass, country and Southern gospel music anywhere. He sang in church and recalls being enthralled by Lee Greenwood at Magic Waters, a theme park in nearby Cherokee. He was also fond of trying to imitate the distinctive voice of Inspirations tenor Archie Watkins. As he grew up, his list of influences grew to include Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Ryan Adams and Vince Gill.
He has toured the entire country a few times now and continues to grow in popularity all over the country. Breaking in on Billboard’s Country charts with “Shine” (52) and “Sweet Sun Angel” (58) as a true independent has really set the table for big things to come.
”I remember seeing the chart for the first time when “Shine” debuted at (52) and it was awesome! It has really opened a lot of doors for me.”
One of those doors was at Average Joe’s Entertainment, home to Montgomery Gentry, Colt Ford, Corey Smith, and Josh Gracin. The label is on the forefront of grassroots promotion and caters to artist who have gone out and built their on career. They signed Matt to a recording contract, released Shine Deluxe and is now working on a brand new album with producer Mickey Jack Cones.
10 Quick Quirky Questions with Matt Stillwell
Q: Where is the one place you could spend hours and be happy?
A: My couch holding my new baby girl
Q: Beer or Liquor?
A: Moonshine
Q: Last person you talked to on the phone?
A: My Fiance
Q: Favorite TV Show?
A: Justified
Q: What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
A: Food
Q: If you hadn’t made it as a singer/songwriter, what would you likely be doing for a living?
A: I sold real estate for a living and my family is in construction. So probably something combining the two of those professions. If not that then I’d probably be a baseball coach
Q: If your life was a song, what would the title be?
A: Don’t Stop Dreaming. I was singing the journey song in my head “Don’t Stop Believing”
Q: If you could have any super power what would it be?
A: To be invisible
Q: Do you have a pre-concert ritual?
A: Stretch, little vocal warm up, shot of shine, and the wolf howl with the band right before we go on stage
Q: What was the last thing that made you laugh?
A: My little girl passing gas
You can find out more about Matt Stillwell on his website at: www.mattstillwell.net/
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