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Matt North, hailed by the Village Voice’s “Dean of American Rock Critics,” Robert Cristgau, as “an absolutely first-rate songwriter” is a former Champaign-Urbana townie now based in Nashville after a long tenure in Los Angeles. An award-winning songwriter with two critically acclaimed releases:Bullies in the Backyard (2022) and Above Ground Fools
(2017), North will release his third album, Savoy, on September 15, 2026. After two albums featuring Nashville A-listers from Lucinda Williams’ and Emmylou Harris’ bands, Savoy was recorded in Champaign-Urbana studios with an exclusive lineup of Central Illinois veterans on every track: Paul Chastain, Mitch Marlow, Larry Beers, Jesse Brown, Lynn Canfield, Kent Whitesell, Jeff Helgesen, Scott Frillman, and Ryan Groff.
As a songwriter and drummer, North recorded and performed with Maria McKee of Lone Justice, Peter Case, Blondie Chaplin, Mink Stole, Andy Prieboy, and Stuart Mathis of The Wallflowers. His great uncle is novelist and Kentucky poet laureate, Jesse Stuart, and his father's family were Scotch-Irish coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. North grew up in Champaign on equal doses of Hee Haw and Soul Train, playing local gigs drumming with Jay Bennett of Wilco, and also John Coltrane bassist, Rafael Garrett, at Nature’s Table. North says of the Illinois community that shaped him, “I’ve always called Champaign-Urbana the ‘Muscle Shoals of the Midwest’ based on
its historical output from studios, bands, and songwriters publishing original songs. I can’t think of an equally-sized Midwest town that matches it.”
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Rose Bowl Tavern, 106 N Race St, Urbana, IL 61801-2694, United States
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