Crys Matthews
Herndon, Virginia, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Regional Artist Project of North Carolina winner Crys Matthews can be found most Tuesday nights at Boone’s Café Portofino with many other local and talented musicians. Matthews, a regular solo performer, decided to make performing in the High Country a community effort and is now branching out geographically.
Offering an eclectic blend of blues, funk and jazz, singer/songwriter Matthews brings a new sub-genre to the area. Her influences range from Otis Redding to Ani DiFranco, and she has been compared to Jill Scott and Tracey Chapman. It’s no wonder there isn’t a box large enough to encompass what she calls FuBluJazz.
“Music has always been a part of my life—even before I took my first breath,” she said. The 27-year-old daughter of a preacher admits that gospel music was her first love. “I’m always amazed at how much true soul music sounds like what I grew up listening to in church.” That gospel influence is evident in her own music, especially in the track she refers to as “a love-letter for anyone who ever had to leave someone,” 2,000 Miles.
Matthews has become a regular performer for private, public and community events in the Watauga and Avery county areas. She is frequently called upon to play at weddings, recitals, concerts and other special community events.
“Crys’ music is delightfully eclectic and she’s always very well-received by our audiences. In our mountain community there is a tendency toward bluegrass fans,” said Cherry Johnson, Executive Director of the Watauga Arts Council. Look for Matthews this summer at Tressa’s Downtown Jazz and Blues of Asheville.
For more information, or to book Crys Matthews, call Ezell Williams at 252-626-7414 or email her at www.ewilliams@alumni.appstate.edu.
- The High Country Press
Winner of the 2007 Regional Artist Project of Northwest North Carolina, Crys Matthews can be found on most nights in Boone at Café Portofino, Higher Grounds Coffee Shop, or Murphy’s Pub with other local and talented musicians.
A native of southeastern North Carolina, Crys came to Boone in 1998 as a music education major at Appalachian State University. “Most people don’t know that my first love was actually the clarinet and not the keys or guitar,” she jokes. After winning a talent show at ASU in 2002, Crys decided to stop talking herself out of singing in public and to give performing a shot.
Offering an eclectic blend of funk, blues, and jazz, singer/songwriter Crys brings a refreshing new subgenre to music lovers of all ages and backgrounds. With influences ranging from Otis Redding all the way to Ani DiFranco and having been compared to artists as diverse in sound and style as Jill Scott and Tracy Chapman, it's no wonder there isn't a box large enough to encompass what she likes to call “FuBlueJazz.”
"Music has always been a part of my life, even before I actually took my first breath," she says. The daughter of a preacher, the 28-year-old admits that gospel music was her first love. "I'm always amazed at how much true soul music sounds like what I grew up listening to in church when I was a little girl," she says. That gospel influence is very evident throughout her own music, especially in “Gratitude” and in the track she often refers to as “a love letter for anyone who has ever had to leave someone: “2,000 Miles.”
“Crys's music is delightfully eclectic and she's always very well received by our audiences. In our mountain community there is a tendency to feature bluegrass, old-time, and traditional music, so Crys's blend of funk and blues is a refreshing change, even for the die-hard bluegrass fans,” says Cherry Johnson, Executive Director of the Watauga County Arts Council.
The Council’s Mark Freed adds, “ Crys has won a couple of Regional Artist Project grants from the Watauga Arts Council and she will be joining the Arts Council board of directors this year. She is just starting to break out with her music, performing at venues and festivals across the country. I really think she has a promising career ahead of her.”
Last May, Crys was selected to perform in the OUT/LOUD in Eugene, OR, the largest festival of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. She has just returned from that event and she says it was her wake-up call. “I used to listen to my mother talk about getting “the call” and realizing she was meant to be a minister and how that felt. When I walked off of the stage in Eugene, I understood exactly what she was talking about.”
Crys has a strong fan base stretching from the High Country, where she is a regular performer, to venues in Georgia, Florida, Washington, DC, and everywhere in between.
- All About Women Magazine
Regional Artist Project Grant Winner Part of Boone’s Art Crawl Celebration
By Jeff Eason
The Watauga Arts Council announced last week that there will be no new art exhibits in either the Mazie Jones Gallery or the Open Door Gallery as the council spends the first part of the month decorating the Jones House Community Center for the holidays.
The council will have new work in the Senior Gallery for November and a reception to honor the new show will be held on Friday, November 3rd from 6:30 to 8 p.m. as part of that evening’s Downtown Boone First Friday Art Crawl.
In conjunction with the artist’s reception, the WAC will host a live music concert featuring Watauga County musician Crys Matthews, one of the winners of this year’s Regional Artist Project grants.
Matthews will perform original songs featuring an eclectic mix of funk, blues and jazz. Her influences include soul legend Otis Redding and girl power folkie Ani DiFranco, and her style has been compared to Jill Scott and Tracey Chapman.
Matthews, the daughter of a preacher, has admitted that gospel music was her first love.
“Music has always been a part of my life—even before I actually took my first breath,” said Matthews. “I’m always amazed at how much true soul music sounds like what I grew up listening to in church when I was a little girl.”
Matthews first broke into the High Country music scene in 1999 as the vocalist and keyboardist for the band Half & Half. Since going solo, she has performed at a number of High Country venues including Café Portofino, Caribbean Café, Jimmy’s Java and Higher Grounds Coffee Shop.
Matthews has released a debut album featuring songs as diverse as the jazzy “Can’t Run Away From Love,” the gospel-infused “2,000 Miles” and the soulful blues anthem “This Is No Poem.”
“My mom always said, ‘It doesn’t matter what you’re going through or how bad you think things are—as long as you know somebody somewhere loves you, chances are everything is going to be just fine.’”
The Jones House Concert featuring Crys Matthews is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Watauga Arts Council at (828) 264-1789.
- The Mountain Times
Regional Artist Project Grant Winner Part of Boone’s Art Crawl Celebration
By Jeff Eason
The Watauga Arts Council announced last week that there will be no new art exhibits in either the Mazie Jones Gallery or the Open Door Gallery as the council spends the first part of the month decorating the Jones House Community Center for the holidays.
The council will have new work in the Senior Gallery for November and a reception to honor the new show will be held on Friday, November 3rd from 6:30 to 8 p.m. as part of that evening’s Downtown Boone First Friday Art Crawl.
In conjunction with the artist’s reception, the WAC will host a live music concert featuring Watauga County musician Crys Matthews, one of the winners of this year’s Regional Artist Project grants.
Matthews will perform original songs featuring an eclectic mix of funk, blues and jazz. Her influences include soul legend Otis Redding and girl power folkie Ani DiFranco, and her style has been compared to Jill Scott and Tracey Chapman.
Matthews, the daughter of a preacher, has admitted that gospel music was her first love.
“Music has always been a part of my life—even before I actually took my first breath,” said Matthews. “I’m always amazed at how much true soul music sounds like what I grew up listening to in church when I was a little girl.”
Matthews first broke into the High Country music scene in 1999 as the vocalist and keyboardist for the band Half & Half. Since going solo, she has performed at a number of High Country venues including Café Portofino, Caribbean Café, Jimmy’s Java and Higher Grounds Coffee Shop.
Matthews has released a debut album featuring songs as diverse as the jazzy “Can’t Run Away From Love,” the gospel-infused “2,000 Miles” and the soulful blues anthem “This Is No Poem.”
“My mom always said, ‘It doesn’t matter what you’re going through or how bad you think things are—as long as you know somebody somewhere loves you, chances are everything is going to be just fine.’”
The Jones House Concert featuring Crys Matthews is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Watauga Arts Council at (828) 264-1789.
- The Mountain Times
Discography
The Izzle Ballads (EP) - 2012
A Lesson Learned - 2012
Backroads and Driveways - 2011
Photos
Bio
Award-winning singer-songwriter
When Crys Matthews entered a talent show at Appalachian State University on a whim in 2002 with the first song she ever wrote she never thought that that moment would shape the next decade of her life. She entered, she won, she kept writing, and she kept working at what she calls 'this music thing.' Now, with less than four years of professional touring under her belt she is sharing the stage with some of the artists she used to hear on her iPod then.
After performing at Folkfest St. Pete with the Indigo Girls and Dar Williams in 2010, and at Out/Loud 2009 with Melissa Ferrick and 2008 with Chris Pureka, Crys Matthews hopes to bring her unique fusion of Americana/Folk/Blues to even more listeners in 2011 with her first big studio release, "Backroads and Driveways". The album was produced by Karen Kane, who engineered Tracy Chapman's very first EP. Kane heard Crys play at a festival and thought their collaboration would be a win.
"Imagine Jill Scott and Otis Redding had a daughter and Tracy Chapman was her god-mother... now imagine she spent summers teaching herself piano in Chicago and guitar in the mountains of North Carolina... that would probably sound something like the music I am fortunate enough to call my own."
Having been compared to every one from Toshi Reagon to Ruthie Foster, her music is an infusion of Americana/Blues/Bluegrass/Folk/Funk/Jazz, which, as eclectic as it sounds, is reaching people all around the world and causing them to stop and take notice.
A self-proclaimed old soul, the southeastern North Carolina native first popped onto the local music scene in Boone, NC in 1999 as a vocalist/keyboardist with the band Half & Half before breaking out with her own solo career. Since then she has continued to tour the greater US.
"Music has always been a part of my life -- even before I actually took my first breath," she says. The daughter of a preacher, the 30-year-old admits that gospel music was her first love. "I'm always amazed at how much true soul music sounds like what I grew up listening to in church when I was a little girl," she says.
With a fan base that continues to widen and a studio release slated for early 2011, it seems that things are indeed going to be more than fine for this artist.
You can find Crys's music at: www.reverbnation.com/crysmatthews and at www.myspace.com/crysmatthews. She is also on Facebook.
Here's what folks are saying about Crys Matthews:
"Matthews’ work is fun, current, deep, and sure to explode in popularity. Catch her before everyone becomes a fan!"
- Nick Mattos, Just Out (Nov 20, 2009)
"Mark Freed adds, “ Crys has won a couple of Regional Artist Project grants from the Watauga Arts Council... She is just starting to break out with her music, performing at venues and festivals across the country. I really think she has a promising career ahead of her.”"
- All About Women Magazine (Feb 27, 0009)
"Crys Matthews is referred to most often as a blues performer but also fuses jazz, funk, folk and Americana sounds to form her own eclectic blend of soul music."
- Anna Oakes, The High Country Press (Aug 20, 2009)
“Crys’ music is delightfully eclectic and she’s always very well-received by our audiences. " - The High Country Press (Jul 26, 2007)
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