Automatic Shoes

Matthew Joseph Hughes, aka Automatic Shoes, is a singer/songwriter from Spokane, Washington. Since learning his first few chords in 2006, he has self-produced and released 18 solo albums, and 3 albums with his band Atari Ferrari, formed in 2016.

Born in 1989, Matthew grew up with a love of all things vintage and obscure. This had him digging for music outside of the mainstream in 90's America, finding a soft spot for early Bee Gees, Gordon Lightfoot, and then stumbling into & obsessing over Mott the Hoople, Sweet, Slade, and T.Rex.



Automatic Shoes, nicked from the T.Rex song Telegram Sam, was Matthew's first suggestion when a friend asked him what she should name her band. When she didn't want it, Matthew figured he better start making his own music. Matthew's first recordings were T.Rex covers, shared on MySpace and YouTube in late 2006. Since that time, he has recorded many interpretations of Marc Bolan's songs, and has performed at special T.Rex tribute events in New York City & London. In 2022, Easy Action Records released his album of Marc Bolan covers, In This Style, on vinyl, and they included two of his versions on their 2023 compilation, Elemental Child.

Classic Rock Magazine has called Automatic Shoes "a sparkling pocket of melodic instrospection," referring to Matthew as a "pop-rock maverick [...] one of those artists who deserves to be better known than he is."

Alongside Matthew's solo work, he fronts the rock band Atari Ferrari. In their local Spokane scene, they've won Best Local Band in the Inlander's Best Of 2023 poll, with Matthew voted Best Singer/Songwriter. They also took home Best Rock Band and Best Release for their album Rebel, from the beloved Spokane venue The Bartlett, in 2019.

Matthew is currently working on the next Automatic Shoes album, and plotting a return to London in September 2024.