Although she is constantly referred to as 'the next Tracy Chapman,' Crys Matthews describes herself and her music as: "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." The 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 been a permanent fixture at venues like Caribbean Cafe, Jimmy's Java, Cafe Portofino, and Higher Grounds.

"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 26-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 second album slated for release in the spring, it seems that things are indeed going to be more than fine for this artist.