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
I've been doing a bunch of recordings recently and am releasing a new single in late January that will be available on Spotify, Apply Music and all other streaming services. The song is called “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?” and was written about fifty years ago, by the great Nashville songwriter Whitey Shafer. It was later a hit for both George Strait and Keith Whitley. You can stream the song on BandCamp for free NOW at https://mattyorkboston.bandcamp.com/track/does-fort-worth-ever-cross-your-mind
I'm doing a number of private concerts in January but there are a few upcoming gigs open to the public including:
January 11th at 2pm: Mashpee Public Library where I'll be performing classic country and honky-tonk music and talking about the careers of some of the great artists from that time period. More info at https://mashpeepubliclibrary.org/
January 11th at 8pm: Parlour Providence, RI - also on 1/11, I'll be performing a few songs as part of a Planned Parenthood benefit that includes a bunch of great New England musicians, performing the songs of Townes Van Zandt. More info at https://theparlourri.com/events/
February 1st (Sat.) at 1pm - Wareham Public Library. I'll be doing an author talk about the new Willie Nelson book. I'll be singing a few songs but mostly will be talking about Willie's life and how the book came together. I've never really done like a real life author talk. I'm not sure I know what I'm doing and this could be terrible : ) You should absolutely come and find out!!!! More info at https://www.warehamfreelibrary.org/
February 8th (Sat.) at 7pm - Shepherd Center for the Performing Arts in Fairhaven, MA. First time performing here. I'll be doing the songs of the Highwaymen. I'll have a friend joining me on fiddle. We've rehearsed these songs a bit and I'm loving the addition of fiddle and harmonies. Tickets are only $20 and can be purchased at https://theshepherdcenter.org/
February 9th (Sun.) at 1pm: Worcester Public Library performing the songs of Willie and talking about the book. They have a beautiful room for concerts and it's free. https://www.mywpl.org/
February 15th (Sat.) at 1pm: Westfield Athenaeum performing performing the songs of Willie and talking about the book. The Athenaeum is a gorgeous sounding room. For more info visit https://www.westath.org/
Lastly, sometimes I meet people and they ask me how they can help out independent musicians/artists like me.
A few ways you can help without spending a single penny, follow my Facebook page (link here), YouTube (link), Instagram (link) or Spotify (link). Forward this email to someone that might be interested in this thing I do or come attend a free concert next time in your neck of the woods.
A few ways you can help make me the rich man my teenage daughters firmly believe I already am……buy a ticket to an upcoming concert, buy the new Willie book or the Highwaymen book from 2022. Help support The Music is a Beautiful Thing Project that I'm getting up off the ground over this winter (more info at https://mattyorksongsandstories.com/the-music-is-a-beautiful-thing-project) or put a little money in the gas tank. I drove 35,000 miles this year and that's a lot of gas : ) Venmo is @mattyorkboston and PayPal is this link.
A lot more good stuff coming up in 2025. Thanks for your support in 2024 and I hope you have a great New Year!
Here's a performance I did earlier this year of the great Hank Cochran song “A Little Bitty Tear”.