Matthew Fox is a singer/songwriter and guitarist with influences ranging from Django Reinhardt to Mississippi John Hurt to the great songwriters of Texas. Solo and in various combos, Matthew has played throughout the US and the United Kingdom and shared the bill with artists as diverse as John McEuen and Johnny Winter. Matthew has been the featured guest on KUNI’s Live from Studio One, Tom May’s nationally-syndicated River City Folk, Public Radio’s All Things Considered and BBC Radio’s Paul Jones Show and is a proud endorser of Langejans Guitars of Holland, MI, Elixir Strings and Diamond Bottlenecks of Wordsley, England.
Originally from Georgia and raised in Texas, Matthew has a deep connection with the roots styles and songwriting traditions of those regions. He and his family moved north to the Black Hills where Matthew gained a reputation as a guitarist and mandolinist and eventually settled in the musical hotbed of the Twin Cities. Matthew's songs have been likened to the writing styles of Lyle Lovett and Norman Blake and he was one of 5 international finalists in the 2003 Sisters Folk Festival Songwriting Contest.
In December 2002, Matthew recruited fiddle/mandolin legend Peter Ostroushko, folk heroes Dakota Dave Hull and Kari Larson and a host of local talent to release “Pilgrim”, a collection of original and traditional tunes that varies in style from Old-Time to songs show-casing his bluesier side and his appreciation for the great Texas story-song tradition.
Matthew’s second solo release, “Tall Tales & Plain Lies”, also featuring Peter Ostroushko, was released in June 2004 and includes 13 original songs, again finding that place where blues, jazz and Texas songwriting meet. Mr. Ostroushko, bassist Gary Raynor and harmonica wizard Clint Hoover provide the perfect setting for Matthew to showcase his writing.
Matthew's shows usually include a mix of blues tunes, a jazz standard or two and a healthy dose of his acclaimed original songs and instrumentals, performed on flattop and resonator guitars and varied in style but usually rooted in the American Roots traditions. He is equally at home playing fingerstyle or flatpicking.
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