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Aug

2010

Country Concert Chronicles-Matt Stillwell

Prior to Matt Stillwell’s recent performance in Atlanta, I was able to sit down with the Sylva, NC native and chat with him about what led him to music. Before pursuing a career in music, Matt’s primary focus was playing baseball. He played at the collegiate level at Western Carolina University. Eventually he realized that professional baseball wasn’t in the cards for him and he earned a music business management degree from Belmont University in Nashville. While he had sung in the church choir and high school chorus, he didn’t decide to pursue a career in music until after he had graduated from college. “I’ve been making a living playing music for about nine years, if you can call it that,” Matt said with a smile. “I’m very blessed to be doing this!”

Matt’s background in music business management has prepared him for his career as an artist. He has an understanding of the business side of the industry. “When I first came out, I was truly an independent artist. I put an investment team together and really started my own label.” That label was called Still 7 and yielded Matt’s debut album, Take It All In, and its follow-up, Shine. Last year Matt joined forces with Average Joes Entertainment. Earlier this summer the label re-released Shine and re-titled it Shine Deluxe. The updated album includes three additional tracks. He was introduced to Average Joes through his publicist, Ebie McFarland, who works extensively with the label and its artists. “I had been working with her for a long time and she had started working with these guys (the Average Joes team). I was looking for management, actually, and Ken Madson with Full Scope. Ebie kind of turned me on to them (Full Scope) and then that turned me on to Average Joes.” Working with Average Joes is a great fit for Matt because the label provides him the support of having a label while giving him the freedom to create the music that he wants.

Although he now has the backing of a record label, Matt isn’t afraid to put in the hard work necessary to advance his career. “I still set up sponsorships and call the radio stations. Now as things progress, that’s where the label comes in and gives you more gas. But you’re the one that has got to do it. No one cares as much about it as I do. You get record deals and it takes you a while to realize ‘I’ve still got to do this.’ They don’t wake up at 6:30 in the morning and think about Matt Stillwell, but I do. We’ve got a good thing going.” His business management training has helped him “understand what it takes to get from step to step.” He also credits his baseball playing days for giving him the drive to succeed in the music industry. “I think that baseball and athletics have taught me as much as anything from a goal setting situation and not getting frustrated (when things don’t go as planned) and to not lose sight of where you’re going. Being able to strike out two or three times in a row, you still have to go hit the next time. The two (baseball and the music industry) parallel each other big time.”

Matt loves playing his music for a live audience. In fact, he says that “everything is built around the live shows. Come see me if you want to know what it’s all about!” Matt recently hosted the third annual Shinefest at the resort at Fontana Village in a remote part of western North Carolina. The festival featured two full days of music from Matt and a host of other artists and songwriters, including several of his fellow Average Joes labelmates. Friday night featured two acoustic songwriters’ sessions followed by a jam session. Saturday’s festivities included a lake party during the day and a full band show that evening. The festival originally started because Matt decided to shoot the music video for his signature song “Shine” at the Fontana Village. “The resort is remote and kind of hard to get to, so I figured that if I was going to have people come to be in the video, we might as well make a weekend of it.” The attendance in the second year was almost triple the first year’s attendance. I haven’t seen information on this year’s numbers, but Matt was hopeful that the event was going to be even bigger this year. Guests of the festival were able rent rooms at the resort or camp out and had a whole weekend of good music and time spent hanging out with the artists.

In addition to Shinefest, Matt has been headlining shows across the Southeast and has played at several of the Aquapalooza events this summer. Check out Matt’s website to see his upcoming dates and to read more about him. You can also purchase merchandise and listen to his heartfelt new single, “Drunk Enough.” He’s a great guy who really knows what he wants in his career. He puts on a rocking live show and I recommend that you see him if he’s in your neck of the woods.

A huge thank you to Matt, to Ebie McFarland and to Shannon Houchins at Average Joes for facilitating the interview. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Aug

2010

Shinefest 2010 is here!!!

Shinefest 2010 is here!!!

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! I sure did! I was actually at home which is pretty crazy for me. The only exciting thing I did was make sushi. It was actually really good! I'm going to start filming a cooking show soon that i'll put on my websites and youtube. It will be great and probably change your lives.

Shinefest 2010 is finally here! This Friday and Saturday! Remember we have added camping for $20 for those of you that want to camp and for those of you that are unable to go home! Its going to be a blast! I can't wait.

Doors will open at 5:00 on Friday and you can just hold on after that! See you there!

Click here to buy tickets

Call 828-498-2211 or Click here for Lodging:

Thank you!!!

Matt

Aug

2010

Shinefest, New Single and More!

bio Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing great! We only have week left before Shinefest! Things are shaping up great! We had great shows this past weekend in Atlanta and Huntington! Thank you to everyone who came out to the shows!

My new single, "Drunk Enough", shipped to radio this week. So feel free to call and email your stations and tell them to be on the lookout for it! Also, send your friends to itunes to download "Drunk Enough" and if you haven't done so yourself you need to immediately!

We added 75 camping sites (for tents only) right below the stage in the softball field for Shinefest. They are only $20/site. If you haven't gotten your reservations for Shinefest you can do so at www.fontanavillage.com or call 828-498-2211.

If you haven't gotten your tickets yet go to Shinefest Tickets. The VIP tickets are going fast so get yours now. There is an unlimited amount of general admission tickets available for Friday and Saturday shows. They will be available Fontana Village Resort if you don't get your tickets in advance.

We will also have a new Shinefest T-shirt and Coozie. Both Men's and Women's style shirts and both Collapsible and Bottle Coozies will be available. So be on the lookout for those!

Here is the updated schedule for Shinefest 2010:

Friday Night Concert:

5:00 PM- Doors Open

6:00 PM - My Highway

1st Song Writer Round:

8:00 PM - Rachel Farley, Ira Dean, Lauren Briant, Ira Dean, Lance Stinson

2nd Song Writer Round:

9:30 PM - Matt Stillwell, Lynn Hutton, Jason Sellers, Mickey Jack Cones

11:00 Jam Session backed by The Wolfpack. All Artist will play until we quit!

Lake Party:

Saturday at noon

Lance Stinson

David Borne

Matt Stillwell

4:30 PM Last Shuttle from Marina

Saturday Night Concert:

6:00 Doors Open

7:00 Big House Radio

8:00 Rachel Farley, Lauren Briant, and Ira Dean

9:00 Hoss Howard

10:00 Matt Stillwell

Also mark your calendars for Aug 20 in Charlotte at Coyote Joe's and Aug 21 in Greenville at The Blind Horse Saloon! Have a great weekend!

Matt

Jul

2010

MUD DIGGER FEATURING COLT FORD, MATT STILLWELL, BRANTLEY GILBERT, SUNNY LEDFURD AND LENNY COOPER TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 3RD.

What do you get when you mix up some of country music's hottest new artists with the biggest and baddest of weekend crazes? MUD DIGGER! Now available on iTunes (Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mud-digger-featuring-colt/id381557952) and headed to Wal-Mart August 3rd.

Average Joes Entertainment recording artists Colt Ford, Brantley Gilbert, Matt Stillwell, Sunny Ledfurd and Lenny Cooper team up for a CD full of new and exclusive tracks that celebrate true country pastimes. You don't need a big truck to dig these tracks but you do need a CD player.

Jul

2010

Shinefest, Atlanta and Huntington

bio Hey guys! I hope you all had a great weekend! I did, except for the heat and no AC on the bus! Thank you to everyone at Prince William Marina in Woodbridge and at Station 7 in Delaware! You all treated us so well and we had a great time this weekend!

We are playing in Atlanta this Friday night at Wild Bills. This Saturday we are playing in Huntington, WV at Riverfront Park with Colt Ford. So get all of your friends together and come out!

Shinefest is only a few weeks away! Tickets are on sale now at www.mattstillwell.net. Rooms are going really fast so be sure and reserve yours at www.fontanavillage.com. Remember there will be a lot more camping options this year.

Daily passes are $22.50/advance and $25.00 day of show. Weekend passes are $40.00/advance and $50.00/day of show. There are VIP tickets as well this year that will give you covered seating, great views, access to the artist section, and first access to the grill and bar.

I hope you all have a great week! Come see me in Atlanta and WV this weekend!

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