At AWAL, we love sharing our artists’ stories so their paths — as individual and unique as the music they make — inspire others to pursue their own music-career goals.
Here in our “My Journey” series, our members share their stories — the challenges they’ve faced, how they’ve overcome them, the milestones they’ve achieved, and where they hope the future leads.
This week, we’re speaking with English singer/songwriter — River Matthews.
How did you get your start as an artist?
There’s like a million little moments which could have sparked off the journey: listening to “Pass the Dutchie” on repeat for about a month when I was little and dancing all up and down the house! Or the first time I heard the Graceland album by Paul Simon. Loads of moments like that.
Oasis was the band which got me picking up a guitar, learning chords, playing with other musicians, and singing in front of people. They probably opened the musical door a whole lot wider than it was already.
What stage of your musical journey are you in now?
I’m lucky enough to have two EPs out, just back from my first headline tour in Europe, and the first album is on its way at the end of January! I’ve met and worked with a bunch of amazing talented people and opened for a few, too.
What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced so far?
Playing a headline show in Amsterdam with no sleep was a bit of a weird one! Also, letting go of a song and saying, “Yeah, that’s finished” I still find pretty tough.
What have been some of the most rewarding moments in your career so far?
Seeing the album finished, artwork done, and on pre-order is still blowing my mind. But the thing that’s probably got me the most is when the string section came into the studio to play on my song “Stars.” That got me pretty big.
Any major milestones on the horizon?
The album out end of January is the milestone I’m most looking forward right now!
What are some of your ultimate goals for your music career?
Still the same goals I’ve always had for music: I wanna travel, connect, and play music with other people and get better at songwriting.
AWAL Insights™ Into River Matthews’ Journey
- Since joining AWAL in May 2016, River has had over 226,000 streams across Spotify and Apple Music!
- Among his playlist adds is the popular UK Spotify playlist “A Perfect Day,” which has more than 245,000 followers.
- River’s listener base is split almost equally down the middle — 54% of listeners are male and 46% are female.
How has your experience with AWAL been so far?
It’s been great. They’ve been really supportive, and a great help getting “Sunshine” onto the New Music Friday playlist on Spotify!
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