Matt Robertson see’s the world around him like a movie, with infinite story lines and soundtracks weaving together the harmonies of sadness and joy and melodies of dark and light. Always the dreamer, he naturally fell into the life of a creative soul, listening and making music to give life as he knew it depth and meaning. In those difficult days as a teenager he could always count on his guitar to keep him company, until of course that fateful day in the spring of 1987 when Jason Atterton, a high school buddy who shared Matt’s love of all things Grateful Dead decided to buy a bass guitar. That afternoon, in the basement of Matt’s parents house, the Tree Shepherds were born. They didn’t know it at the time but this would forever change their lives, taking them to the highest of peaks and the darkest of valleys for the next 25 years playing their unique style of rootsy acoustic folk music. They covered the music of the Grateful Dead, interpreting the songs of the band they loved so much with clumsy charm and loose grace.
This naturally led Matt to the art of song crafting, he was shy and introverted and went through many of life’s trauma’s early on but with a creative mind that seems to know no bounds he began writing to try to make sense of all the experiences one goes through growing up and growing older. This is how he got to understand why things are the way there are, through music, art, writing, photography and dance he made his way through life and survived and prospered. Over the years many musicians have come and gone and come back again, all remain brothers and sisters, integral and essential parts in a musical journey, sonicly woven together like a tapestry, connected for life. At the end of the day though, the real essence of the Tree Shepherds is just Jay and Matt.
Through good times and in bad, they have managed to stay true to their course, fumbling along, meeting at least once a week to play some of the old stuff, run through some of the new tunes Matt has written after which maybe they might play some tunes of the artists they love and admire like the Grateful Dead, Ryan Adams, Iron and Wine or Elliott Smith. You might wonder why after 25 years of being together why haven’t you heard of them.. well, you see they are veterans, not so much of the beer stained bars and the lonely cafes of the city but of the barns, basements and shacks where they have been crafting there style, trying to make it be just exactly perfect, and having big fun in the meantime.


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