Life & Work with Genna Matthew

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Genna Matthew.

Hi Genna, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. It’s always been a part of me, even before I knew it. I was lucky to have grown up in a very creative and supportive community in Charlottesville, Virginia. I’d always been involved in music through school and community choirs, but it wasn’t until I learned to play guitar in seventh grade that I realized I could accompany myself and write my own songs. I think that was when I first became really motivated to pursue music. 

My first guitar teacher, Devon Sproule, is an incredible songwriter, and she was the one who first pushed me to write my own songs. There is an incredible place in Charlottesville called the Music Resource Center that was available to teens as a safe space to create, practice, record, and just foster young music in our town. The MRC had a fully functional recording studio, and it was there that I had my first experience recording an album as a teen. Recording is still one of my favorite parts of the process, and I know it was all the time I spent at the MRC that made me so comfortable in the studio. 

In college, I studied classical voice and sang in numerous choirs – I’ve always loved singing with others and learned everything I know about blending, harmony, and ear training from my time in those groups. But my biggest love was always writing and performing my own songs. After finishing my undergraduate studies, I felt really conflicted about how to pursue music as a career. I felt like I needed to have a “normal job” to be taken seriously as an adult. 

I spent years putting music on the back burner while working a 9-5, but eventually, I reached a point where my light had totally gone out. I knew that if I didn’t put music first in my life, I would be deeply unhappy. So, I took a huge leap of faith and moved abroad to Spain to pursue my master’s at Berklee College of Music’s Valencia campus. This was the first time in my life I had allowed myself to put music first. For a year, I threw myself into my art and was inspired by the community and the gorgeous city in which we had found ourselves. 

I knew pretty quickly that I wouldn’t be able to go back to “normal.” After my year abroad, I started plans to move to Nashville. Of course, the plan was to arrive in March of 2020, right as COVID hit the states. My first year in Nashville was a strange and isolating time, but I knew that if I didn’t go forward with the move, I would slide back into an all-to-familiar life back home. It was right as the COVID lockdown was lifting in 2021 that I met my producer, Jake Finch, and we started working together. 

As soon as I finished that first session with Jake, I knew I had found the creative partner I’d been looking for to help me bring my songs to life. Working in the studio with Jake was the medicine my heartbreak needed, and I think you can hear me healing in this record if you listen closely. 

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think the hardest thing for me has always been balance. I’ve wanted to pursue a career in music since I was a teenager, and I struggled to find a path that felt sustainable and secure while still putting everything I could into my art. 

Whether I was trying to balance music while going to a liberal arts university or working a 9-5, I always struggled to find the balance between paying the bills and fostering my music career. I think this is something a lot of artistic types struggle with. There is no blueprint for an artistic path, especially in a music industry that is constantly shifting. 

At a certain point, I had to let go of ideas about what I “should do” and realize that I needed to tap into my own energy and find ways to make my time and my energy work for me. Everyone is different, but I’ve found that finding a day job that is fulfilling while also respectful of my energy has been the biggest lesson in furthering my art. 

I’m still figuring it out, but I will never go back to a job that takes from my artistic well – there is no need to do that. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a singer/songwriter currently focusing on my artist project. I’m releasing a new single each month from my upcoming debut record, “Broken Record.” This project has been a long time in the making and includes work from my songwriting journey through the past 15 years. I started conceptualizing this record in Spain and drafted many demo recordings with my fellow artists and producers at Berklee Valencia. 

Once I returned stateside, I knew I wanted to work with a producer who really understood my vision, and I couldn’t have found a better match than Jake Finch. The songs on this record are all very lyrically driven, which has always been my main focus and motivator in music. My mother is a writer, and my father has the pipes, so I think I always had a natural inclination to write lyrics. I write for catharsis and always pull from raw, vulnerable life experiences. 

I believe that vulnerability is the key to a great song, and most importantly, it is the key to connecting with listeners. I’ve found that the most personal songs are the ones that speak to others and allow them to see themselves in your music. While this record is a personal piece of my heart, my goal is always to create art that allows others to feel heard. 

What does success mean to you?
My idea of success has always been closely tied to community. 

Something I’ve learned is that fostering community is an essential foundation for any music career. I was very fortunate to grow up in a wonderful music community that was constantly inspiring, supporting, and pushing me to develop my craft. When I came to Nashville, I hardly knew anyone. 

But I was intentional about finding and fostering a community here where we can all support and celebrate each other’s art. When I think about success, I think about the people around me. Being celebrated and respected by artists I look up to and who have inspired me would feel like the greatest success. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gennamatthewmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gennamatthew/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GennaMatthewMusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3D7p1s3rXNGn08ob-dPSzQ
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2uXcdOHR9FrOl74Nogujyz?si=bnX9nigrQiCLPinbRNiiig

Image Credits
Lindsey Patkos, Emily Otnes, Stephen Levey, Kirt Barnett, and Winter Wilson