Behind the man and the music….
Matthew Huff, independent artist, from North Central Arkansas. His debut radio single “Back Again” reached Top 40 (39) on Music Row in September 2010. His follow up “As Time Goes By” already making its way up the Music Row chart. Matthew’s debut album “Strong” features 6 tracks, in which all are self-written.
Growing up a small town country boy on a thousand acres of family land where dirt roads twined and mingled their way through the hills of north Arkansa...
Behind the man and the music….
Matthew Huff, independent artist, from North Central Arkansas. His debut radio single “Back Again” reached Top 40 (39) on Music Row in September 2010. His follow up “As Time Goes By” already making its way up the Music Row chart. Matthew’s debut album “Strong” features 6 tracks, in which all are self-written.
Growing up a small town country boy on a thousand acres of family land where dirt roads twined and mingled their way through the hills of north Arkansas didn’t give Matthew Huff many opportunities to shake hands with country music stars or even semi stars for that matter. There was really no live music scene to whet the appetite but there was the radio and of course there was church. But it did give Matt a wealth of real life knowledge, background and experiences to draw from when he realized God had put the talent within him to put words together that would paint pictures in song.
Matthew’s small town experiences have taught him a lot. Some of those lessons came when he realized that he needed to leave the little town if he was going to realize his big time career dreams. Of his music, Matthew says “My life experiences and the emotions that come from certain events in my life are what bring life to the songs I write and perform. The music comes from deep within my heart and soul. I find that I write a ton on emotion.” It’s that passion which he hopes will lead to touching and moving people.
Leaving that small town Matthew pursued a college education and later on a career in teaching. For six years Matthew used his degree to shape and mold young minds very successfully teaching 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students in the Conway Public School system. Matthew took the opportunity of involving and networking a lot of community people and activities within his classroom. What set him apart was the willingness to have an open mind to involving as many positive moments as possible into the lives of his students. Often days you would find the mayor, senator, Ms. Arkansas or some other well known Arkansan in his room reading to the kids or sharing their stories.
Vocal groups such as Little Texas, Diamond Rio, and Black Hawk, rich in harmony and steeped in deep and touching lyrics appealed to Matthew early on. Anyone who grew up as a child of the nineties heard and was drawn to the legends like Reba, George Strait, and Alabama. But Matthew’s musical influences have always been diverse. Matthew finds passion as easily in an 80’s Alabama song as he does in jamming to the more modern styles like Keith Urban. Keith Urban is definitely an artist Matthew pays particular attention to, someone who rocks the stage and the airwaves consistently with touching ballads and powerful, modern day themed anthems.
For Matthew, it’s not just Urbans’ songs that touch him, but it’s the courage of taking one’s own painful, real life struggles & turning them into songs and performances that are authentic that inspire Matthew’s artistic spirit.
Matthew believes that becoming a country music artist is attainable, and he is very optimistic, for there is no doubt that being an artist is his passion. Matthew also knows that to become a better artist it is a journey as his songwriting and performance opportunities continue to grow. Small but significant steps have been taken and the dream is more now than just a future hope, it is a consuming passion to become successful at playing and writing music that connects to people and brings hope and joy and a voice into their lives. Matthew believes God has been the one to bless him with what he has and that blessing deserves obedience so Matthew Huff is taking that step of faith today.
show more...
