Comedian Matt Mathews has gone country.
The famed entertainer well known for sharing his “farm chores” in his bath robe on social media is now testing the waters with releasing his debut country album. The full length project is slated for release later this year, but he has already given his fans a taste of what’s to come with the first two releases, “Joke’s On Me” and “What a War.”
While some may question why Matt is taking this new venture with his career, for him, it was simply in the cards all along. “My whole life, music has always been my passion,” Matt tells Country Beat. “At a young age I sang, and music was always the thing I loved the most. I sang in talent shows in 4th and 5th grade. I went to singing competitions when I was a young kid. I’ve always loved music, but I never really pursued it, just because I didn’t think that I was good enough.”
Well thanks to his singing superstar friend, Jewel, she gave him the nudge he was needing to follow that journey. “She was like Matt, I really think that you should pursue music,” he recalls. “I was like yeahhhhhh, but I just don’t know [laughter]. I already have so much going on. Then I decided I’m just going to put this thing out.”
The project contains all material penned by Matt, along with three tunes in which he co-wrote with Nashville songwriter Trent Dabbs. Now that Matt’s first leg of his highly-successful Boujee on a Budget comedy show has wrapped, his summer plans will include filming music videos for his singles, as well as competing in barrel racing competitions, another major passion of his.
“I’ve been barrel racing for several years. I’ve had horses pretty much my whole life,” he says. “So I’m taking the summer, and I am going to enjoy some time with my horses and am going to barrel race. I’m also going to be taking auditions for TV and film, so we are doing some stuff in that space too. I don’t know what’s going to happen; I’m just along for the ride!”
Matt’s second leg of his Boujee on a Budget tour picks back up in July, with one of his final stops being the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville where they will film his next special. Matt plans on incorporating his music as a sidebar to his comedy on future dates, as it already has been a hit with his fans.
“It’s been going really well. People have been loving it,” he says. “They’ve responded really well to it, so I think for right now we’re going to keep it as part of the show.”
Nearly all the dates for Boujee on a Budget have once again sold out during the pre-sale, which continues to amaze the entertainer on just how drastic his life and career have skyrocketed.
“It’s just so cool that people are still liking me and still coming to shows,” Matt says, smiling. “I think at the end of the day, people need to laugh.”
Matt knew early on he had a unique gift for bringing comical joy to lives of those around him. And soon turned it into a full time career. “It was super easy for me,” Matt says. “I realized it was the performing that I loved so much. So I started doing comedy, and it was super easy for me. I fell in love with that.”
So did he ever think his God-given talent would turn into what his career has become now? “Oh my gosh, no … heck no,” he laughs. “I really love it so much. It’s just so fun. Getting to make people laugh is the best feeling because I always say we are in a very dark world, and my comedy is definitely not for the faint of heart. That’s something I’ve been kind of worried about, especially with getting into country music. Are they going to accept me? Am I going to be welcome? I cuss a lot, and I talk about things that most people are scared to say. I’m kind of raunchy [laughs]. But at the end of the day, I am just saying things that most people are too scared to say themselves. So I feel like I’m the just the messenger for other people!”
As far as his hopes for his debut country project, Matt is not setting any high expectations. It will be what it will be, and that’s perfectly fine by him.
“Honestly, I’m not even putting this record out for anybody but me,” Matt says. “I’m not putting it out to be the next big country star. I’m not putting it out to sell a million records and go platinum. It was a passion project that I had for myself. So if nobody listens to it and everyone hates it, and I just put it out there for me, then I still did what I set out to do.”
