Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt VanFossen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Matt VanFossen is a country singer, songwriter, and recording artist from Ohio who has spent years building a dedicated fan base through live performances, original music, and a genuine connection with his audience.
Known for his traditional country influence and emotionally driven songwriting, Matt has performed throughout Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and beyond, appearing at bars, festivals, fairs, private events, and other live venues as a solo acoustic artist, duo, and with his full country band. His music has also received regional radio attention, including his song “Time Ain’t What It Used to Be,” which charted at #76 on 98.7 WOVK’s Top 98 year-end countdown.
Matt’s career has increasingly taken him to Nashville, where he is working on his upcoming album From Here To Heaven, produced by acclaimed Nashville producer Kent Wells, known for his longtime work with Dolly Parton. The project represents a major step forward in Matt’s career and features deeply personal songwriting, including the title track, written in memory of his mother.
With a growing audience across social media and a passion for connecting with fans through his music and live shows, Matt is focused on taking his career to the next level — pursuing radio opportunities, Nashville collaborations, professional PR and marketing, and opportunities to bring his music to a much larger country music audience.
From local stages to Nashville studios, Matt VanFossen is continuing to turn years of hard work, life experiences, and a love for country music into the next chapter of his career.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely Not, Being and openly gay male country artist has been an extremely rough road. Doors that
Would typically be opened for a straight man I’ve had to knock down to get the same opportunity.
My father was a rampant and abusive alcoholic. When he came home from drinking, he would often abuse me because he knew I was gay. He believed he could somehow beat it out of me.
Because of what I experienced growing up, I became an incredibly shy child and teenager. I didn’t want to be seen. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. I just wanted to fade into the background and make it through the day.
Music eventually became the place where I could find the voice I was afraid to use in my everyday life.
In 2009, I got my first song on the radio, “Tell Me What It Used to Be.” I will never forget the first time I heard it on 98.7 WOVK in Wheeling, West Virginia. My mom and I were on our way to breakfast when the song came on. We screamed, we cried, and we celebrated together. It was one of those moments you know you will carry with you forever.
A few months later, my mom called me crying. She told me she had heard the song on the radio probably a hundred times, but this time something was different. After they played it, the people on the radio talked about me. That was when it hit her: That’s my kid.
Hearing her tell me that was incredibly powerful. My mom was my biggest supporter and my safe place, and knowing how proud she was of me meant everything.
Just three months later, on St. Patrick’s Day 2010, my mom went to work at the age of 50—and never came home.
She suffered a stroke and eventually ended up on life support. My best friend, Josie, worked with my mom and was the person who called me to tell me what had happened. I made my way to the hospital to say goodbye.
As I pulled into the hospital parking lot, something happened that I will never forget.
My song, “Time Ain’t What It Used to Be,” came on the radio.
At that moment, I knew it was a sign from my mom. It felt like she was telling me not to give up.
Because the truth was, I didn’t know if I wanted to keep going without her. I was only 25 years old, and I had just lost the person who had believed in me more than anyone.
Sixteen years later, her presence is still woven into my music.
The centerpiece of my new album is “From Here to Heaven,” a song I wrote in honor of my mom with my guitar player and longtime collaborator, Steven Gridley, and The Heels, a trio from Canada.
The story of how that song came together is almost as meaningful as the song itself.
Steven, The Heels, and I were sitting together for a co-writing session, working on what was supposed to be a completely different song—something about the beach and drinking. Then Kyla Rawlins of The Heels stopped and looked at me.
She said, “Tell me about your mom. Something is telling me to ask about your mom.”
So I told her.
And from that conversation, “From Here to Heaven” was born.
What started as a simple songwriting session became something much bigger. It became a way for me to tell my mom the things I never got to say, to honor the woman who believed in me from the beginning, and to carry her with me into the next chapter of my life.
Another song on the album, “The Bottle Broke,” featuring Danielle Peck, comes from a very different but equally personal place. The song addresses the pain and abuse that alcoholism can inflict on families and relationships—whether you’re being hurt by a parent, a partner, or someone you love.
For me, these songs aren’t simply tracks on an album. They’re pieces of my life.
One is about surviving the darkness I grew up in. One is about losing my mom. And one is about finding the strength to keep going.
I spent much of my childhood trying to disappear.
Now, through music, I’m finally allowing myself to be heard.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a country music artist originally from the Ohio Valley, known for my powerful vocals, honest songwriting, and songs rooted in real-life experiences. My music has always been about telling the truth—about the good, the bad, the heartbreak, the triumphs, and everything in between.
One of the greatest compliments I can receive is knowing that my music has helped someone navigate their own life. Whether someone is celebrating, grieving, struggling, falling in love, or simply trying to find their way, I want my songs to be something they can hold onto.
I’ll never forget learning that a fan, Eva Priest from Des Moines, Iowa, had a tattoo of the title of my song “Almost Stopped Dreaming.” We had only met a handful of times, and knowing that something I had written meant enough to her to permanently put it on her body was incredibly humbling. Every time I perform that song, I think of her. What started as a fan relationship has grown into a genuine friendship, and today Eva even helps book my tours in Iowa. Those are the kinds of connections that make this journey so meaningful.
As an independent artist, I’ve continued to build my career independently while earning recognition on the country music charts. Two of my singles, “Get Me Now” and “Where You Gonna Run To Now?”, reached the Top 60 on the MusicRow Country Breakout Radio Chart, peaking at #53 and #51 respectively. Both songs also received CMT exposure through their music videos. They were featured on my album “This Is How You Lost Me,” which is available on major streaming platforms.
But beyond the music, one of the things that sets me apart is that I’m an openly gay country artist.
There aren’t many openly gay men in country music who are willing to stand completely in their truth, and I know that simply being myself can sometimes make me different. But I don’t want to spend my career trying to fit into a mold. I want to stand out for the right reasons.
I want people to hear my music and see that there is a place for everyone in country music.
Now, I’m taking the biggest step of my career.
I’m currently recording my new album in Nashville with Kent Wells, the longtime producer and collaborator of Dolly Parton. Working with Kent has been an incredible opportunity and a dream come true. We’re bringing together the traditional country influences that shaped me with my own experiences, powerful vocals, and stories that could only come from my life.
This album is more than another record.
It’s my story.
It’s where I’ve been, what I’ve survived, who I’ve become, and where I’m going from here.
And for the first time in my career, I’m not trying to fit in.
I’m finally ready to be heard exactly as I am.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was incredibly shy. But from the moment I discovered Reba McEntire in 1988, music became a huge part of who I was.
I was watching the Grand Ole Opry with my great-grandmother, Stella, when Reba came onstage. I was instantly hooked. From that moment on, Reba became my idol.
I would spend countless nights rehearsing her 1989 live album. Then I’d put on my own performances at home, with my brother Sean operating the cassette player—yes, remember those?—while my cousin Courtney ran the dimmer switch to create my very own light show.
By the mid-1990s, my Reba obsession had reached another level. I collected the cardboard Reba cutouts from her partnership with Fritos, and those cutouts became my “background singers.”
Then, in 1996, Reba cut her hair.
As a dramatic 12-year-old, I felt completely betrayed. 😂 I sold my entire Reba collection, a decision I would eventually regret. My mom, however, always said that was the moment she knew for sure I was going to be gay.
For all the time I spent singing along with Reba at home, I was still terrified to sing in front of other people. I didn’t perform publicly until my senior year of high school at John Marshall High School in Glen Dale, West Virginia—the same high school Brad Paisley would attend about a decade later.
I needed either a Speech or Choir credit to graduate, so I chose Choir. My teacher, Mrs. Icard, seemed to recognize something in me that I couldn’t yet see in myself.
Whenever I held back, she would yell across the room, “Sing out, VanFossen!”
Those words may have seemed simple at the time, but they changed me. Little by little, she helped me break through my shyness and discover that maybe I really could be a singer.
Looking back, I realize that the little boy sitting in front of that television watching Reba on the Opry had already found his calling. He just needed someone to help him find the courage to use his voice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mattvanfossen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattvanfossenmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattVanFossenMusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYHthUcroBsjtakREIDdRGg
