Country Star Of The Month: Matt Stell

Matt Stell did not take the usual path to becoming a Country Music artist. His story starts with basketball, make a stop at Harvard, and then goes to Nashville. Matt was a star basketball player in his hometown of Clinton Arkansas. He parlayed that into a full scholarship to Drury University and after completing 4 full years he went to farming and construction while working on his Masters Degree in Communications at the University Of Arkansas. What did Matt do next? Well, he decided to go on a medical mission to Haiti and decided that he wanted to start studying pre-med at none other than Harvard University. Needless to say Matt Stell is a very intelligent man. However, despite all that the call to sign a contract and head to Nashville was stronger.

Matt is obviously a self-made man and it shows in his drive to get into country music. He released his first 3 albums independently before he released his fourth on 124 Records. Then he released “Pray For You” in 2018 and it caught the ears of Rolling Stone Magazine who said it was one of ” 10 Best Country Songs To Hear Now”. Matt had opening stints with both Luke Bryan and Eric Church and “Pray For You” got the attention of Barry Weiss, the former CEO of Jive Records. He signed Stell and his song became a hit going to number one on the charts in 2019, and having over 44 million listens on Spotify. It’s definitely a “wedding dance” song.

Matt’s recent release “Everywhere But On” is reminiscent of country music of the 70’s and 80’s with it’s theme. His easy going sound on his songs is reflective of his hard working attitude and humble demeanor. He played in La Crosse last year and he couldn’t have been a nicer guy to talk with and really be aware how lucky he is to be where he is. “Everywhere” is currently climbing the charts and is just outside the Top 5 songs being listened to in the country. After a second hit under his belt you have to wonder what his next step will be as his unpredictable path seems to wind like his path in his recent song.