UUCB Concerts for a Cause presents singer-songwriter Crys Matthews at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick on Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. to raise money for local charities.
Matthews, who was named 2024 Artist of the Year at the International Folk Music Awards, is already being hailed as “the next Woody Guthrie.” The Nashville resident is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. A powerful lyricist whose songs of compassionate dissent reflect her lived experience as what she lightheartedly calls “the poster child for intersectionality,”
Crys Matthews makes music that is absolutely her own. Sometimes the songs are bluesy, at other times they are country soul. Maybe a song has a little funk or maybe it’s absolutely bluegrass or Americana. Matthews lets the song decide what it wants to be. It’s working for her. In addition to her recent Artist of the Year Award, she won first prize at the 2017 New Song Music and Performance competition, which led to performances at both Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. The preacher’s kid from a small town in North Carolina is doing quite well with eight releases under her belt including songs about social justice, love, loss, and her dog.
“I believe in hope,” Matthews said. “As a social-justice songwriter, it is my duty to keep breathing that hope and encouragement into the people who listen to my music.” Her most recent CD, “Changemakers,” does just that all while tackling some heavy topics like immigration, the opioid crisis, Black Lives Matter, and gun safety to name a few. Crys says, “I hope that these songs will serve as a time capsule, a record of the events of the last four years and what it was like to live through them.”
Crys Matthews’s thoughtful, realistic, and emotional songs speak to the voice of our generation and remind us why music indeed soothes the soul.
Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, and $10 for students/children and will be available at the church office, Gulf of Maine Books, or online at ticketstripe.com/matthews.
Music:
Sleeves Up
Call Them In
Cancel Culture