MATT JENKINS

 

Matt Jenkins -- born in Fort Worth, Texas, raised twenty miles west in Aledo -- had been tempted to pursue a music career straight out of high school. “I'd started playing guitar, and dabbling in songwriting, and singing,” he says. “And I was always recording. I was eaten up with it.” The former high school basketball star had grown up singing and playing guitar in the small theaters of the Texas “Opry” circuit, immersed in the country music his father had always written and performed.

 

But Jenkins resisted the move to Nashville, instead attending South Plains Junior College, near Lubbock, honing his guitar and vocal skills and studying songwriting and theory. After a year, he returned to Aledo to record and submit a three-song demo for a song competition sponsored by a NARAS Grammy committee. Matt's writing and performance impressed the judges: his demo made the final cut -- the only country artist chosen – qualifying him to compete in the performance segment of the contest with the other finalists. His path to Music City became clear.

 

An audition at Jody Williams Music led to a publishing deal, which in turn brought Jenkins to the attention of Tim DuBois, then president of Universal South Records.   That relationship continues today, with Dottore-DuBois Artist Management helping to guide and expand Matt's musical career to the next level.   Renowned producer Garth Fundis is on board as part of Matt's creative team, sifting through and developing great songs for the upcoming recording project. And his live performances attract attention as well, leading to supporting slots with Taylor Swift, Sugarland, Montgomery Gentry, and Keith Urban.

 

 “When you hear me sing,” Jenkins says, “I'm traditional. That's who I am, how I grew up. But from an artist perspective, I'm not a purist. I'm a fan of how Alan (Jackson)'s done it, how George Strait has done it with great songs. I just try to write something with some substance. I love country music, but I don't feel like music should have boundaries. I'm equally as influenced by Tom Petty, James Taylor and John Mayer as I am by Alan and George.”