All Country News: New Artist Spotlight. Get To Know Illinois Native Matt Schuster

February 21st 2023

Sometimes it his hard to break out of the grasp of your small-town roots, But Matt Schuster put those home grown lessons to good

Growing in small town Charleston, Illinois, Matt always knew he loved music but never expected it to go from small town to bright Nashville lights.

"I wouldn't say I grew up in a more musical house than anyone, I always just loved music," Matt told All Country News. "It wasn't until a hunting trip with my dad when I was 9 or 10. I heard Keith Urban for the first time. Keith and Craig Morgan, I was obsessed."

Matt's love grew from budding young fan to having his sights set on music. Thanks to some inspiration from his older sister, Schuster became intrigued on how he could write and play his own songs. "She taught me how to play my first song on the guitar. Well she actually tried twice," Matt laughed. "I was in high school and she taught me how to play a Taylor Swift song. After that I really dove into Brett Eldridge, it was cool to me that he was also from a small town in Illinois, Paris."

While Matt will always be grateful that he grew up in a small-town, he knew and was hungry for more. "I got to spend 21 years of my life there, it teaches you a lot and you learn great values."

It is those homegrown values that Matt has taken with him to Music City. After toying with the idea of becoming a car salesman, Matt knew his heart was in the music and started taking the steps to purse his dream.

"I started an Instagram," Matt told us. After realizing that having two separate accounts could become tedious, he turned to TikTok and things really started happening. "My first goal was to have 10k views on a video. I saw Miley Cyrus had a song that was popping off and people were having alot of success covering it. That is when I realized that trends were a thing. After that I really stared watching views, even at work. I decided I was just going to post everyday both covers and originals. Then it really took off. I stared taking zoom meetings with managers and came up with a game plan."

After making trips for a little over a year, Matt new it was time to make the move to Nashville and continue his journey. "The whole goal was always to get to Nashville, but I didn't want to have to work two jobs. I wanted to be able to write in the morning and then continue TikTok after. So it really had to be the write time. It was game time, and honestly it really hasn't slowed down."

The Matt Schuster train shows no signs of stopping. This voice, who we describe as the "Country Music John Mayer" has captured Nashville and country music fans all over. With his gritty delivery and honest lyric, it is so surprise that Matt is on the rise. His innate feel for a story sets him apart in sometimes an overcrowded sea. His honest songwriting also captured the attention of Universal Music Publishing Group, catapulting his talent even further.

Honestly, Matt could sing the Yellow Pages and we would listen.

Now with over 27 million Spotify streams in 2022, Matt is ready to show Music City what small town tenacity can really do. Matt is kicking of 2023 with a whiskey soaked love ballad "Wasted Prayers."

"I know as a Christian sometimes you gotta admit prayers don't feel answered," Matt told All Country News. "The whole song just flowed out. The title really just gave my co-writers a spark of light and we just went with it. Everybody has been there. Maybe you're not in the best place mentally and you use a bar to cope, but have a come to Jesus moment in the bar." ” The new tune was penned alongside Jonny Price, Adam Yaron and showcases everything we already love about Matt!

Needless to say that small town drive perfectly sums up Matt Schuster. From his homegrown lyrics, powerful melodies and personable stories, we have a feeling that 2023 is Matt's year!