Crys Matthews – Folk Music of the People, Rooted in Tradition, Justice, and Shared Humanity

Her songs not only show us how the world could be, but also the patience and grace required to get us there, even when all seems lost – Rachel Chlost, No Depression

This isn’t just music for a moment; it’s music for a movement – Sheila Taylor, Amplify the Noise

Crys Matthews identifies first and foremost as a Folk singer—creating music rooted in the lives, stories, and struggles of everyday people. Blending Folk, Country, Americana, Blues, and Bluegrass, her songs speak to justice, belonging, and the power of community. A Nashville-based artist with deep Southern roots, Matthews brings clarity and purpose to her songwriting, guided by her mission to amplify unheard voices and illuminate unseen stories. Her latest album, Reclamation (2026 International Folk Music Award Nominee for Album of the Year) explores tradition, identity, and connection with honesty and care. This performance at Godfrey Daniels’ Live Music Listening Room invites listeners from across the community to gather in an intimate space and experience Folk music as it was always meant to be shared—up close, welcoming, and deeply human.

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2026 INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC AWARDS WINNER!
SONG OF THE YEAR "SLEEVES UP"
parade.com/international-folk-song-of-the-year-crys-matthews

2026 INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC AWARDS:
Nominee for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year

Crys Matthews
crysmatthews.com

A troubadour of truth, Nashville resident Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. An award-winning, prolific lyricist and composer, Matthews blends Country, Americana, Folk, Blues, and Bluegrass into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies punctuated by honest, original lyrics. She is made for these times. 

Of Matthews, ASCAP VP & Creative Director Eric Philbrook says, “By wrapping honest emotions around her socially conscious messages and dynamically delivering them with a warm heart and a strong voice, she lifts our spirits just when we need it most in these troubled times.” Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation adds, her gift is a "reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides." In her own words, Matthews says her mission is: "to amplify the voices of the unheard, to shed light on the unseen, and to be a steadfast reminder that hope and love are the truest pathways to equity and justice." Her new album is an embodiment of and a testament to that mission.

When Matthews attended a panel at Folk Alliance International in February of 2024, she heard a Scottish Folk artist inquire as to how many record labels pursue what the artist referred to as "music from my tradition," four words that intrigued Matthews. "I loved the idea of that. It seems like the best way to talk about music: what is your tradition, who are your people, what is the fabric of you?"

A daughter of the South by way of Nashville now and North Carolina forever, and the self-proclaimed poster child of intersectionality, Matthews is boldly answering those questions on her new album aptly titled Reclamation.   

Recorded in Nashville, TN at Sound Emporium Studios, Reclamation was produced by Levi Lowry (co-writer of Zac Brown Band's hit song Colder Weather). The project features her partner on and off stage Heather Mae, her friends and fellow singer-songwriters Kyshona, Melody Walker, and Chris Housman, and some of the best musicians in Music City like Megan Coleman, Megan Elizabeth McCormick, Ellen Angelico, Ryan Madora, Jen Gunderman, and Michael Majett. 

"This album is both sonically and ideologically the fullest representation of who I am as an artist and as a human," she says. A preacher's kid, a Black woman, a Butch lesbian, and a proud Southerner who sings social justice music right alongside 'traditional' Country and Americana music, Matthews is reclaiming not just of the space Black artists have been denied in Country and Americana music, not just of the space LGBTQ people have been denied in communities of faith, not just of the autonomy women have been denied over their own bodies, she is reclaiming the South that raised her.