Bruce Matthews

Named a "Featured Artist" by Bedell Guitars, Michigan-based singer/songwriter Bruce Matthews creates music that connects and offers a chance for listeners to dig deeper.

In his youth, Matthews played in bands in central New York and later traveled the hotel bar circuit in the Northeast and Midwest before packing up his guitar and heading to graduate school. “My buddies and I had some fun and paid our dues, but it was time to shift gears for awhile," says Matthews. It would be several years later when that undeniable passion and talent for creating and connecting with others would resurface. Matthews joined the worship team at Church and began leading music for the services. That's when the musical floodgates re-opened, and his original music began to pour out.

Matthews writes about brokenness, redemption, and his personal journey. “You look in the mirror,” Matthews says, “some things you celebrate, others, not so much. What you do today with what you see there—that’s what matters.”

He fearlessly calls himself out and invites others on a healing and redemptive journey. It's that perspective and ability to boldly bring his own struggles and lessons-learned to light with his music, that speaks so powerfully and distinctly to fans of his "gut-honest" and deeply personal roots music. "Hopefully my music helps pick up the broken pieces and make them whole,” he adds, “after all, it's not the brokenness, but what you do with it that matters."

Bruce Matthews' first album, So Far, was released in 2014, followed in 2017 by his second full length album release, Roll Your Windows Down. In 2021 he released his latest work, What You Leave Behind, continuing his journey of musical introspection and building on his solid fanbase and songwriting resume. He's releasing a fourth album in May 2024, an EP of original songs entitled Holding Fast.

Having become one of west Michigan's most beloved artists over the last decade, Bruce performs both as a solo artist and with his band, the Bruce Matthews Band (or BMB), bringing a seasoned live show experience both acoustic and full-band to each venue, festival and event he plays. Whether a tender ballad or an up-tempo song that gets people out of their seats, Bruce knows how to deliver a performance that leaves a lasting impression and keeps people coming back for more.

While Bruce's story is uniquely his own, his music naturally guides and implores listeners to find the intersect with their own experience. "My song, 'Can't Be About Me', says it all," explains Matthews. “If I've learned anything in this life, the more I get myself out of the way, the better.”