Matt Hill has combined his career as a singer-songwriter with his work as a campaigner in the charity sector and currently as a community songwriter. He has tasted success as an americana singer-songwriter and played in places across Europe, including the UK’s Glastonbury Festival. While Matt grew up enthralled by the music of Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Johnny Cash, the adult Matt Hill fell under the spell of Guy Clark. It is Guy Clark’s 10th anniversary this year, and this inspired Matt Hill to put on an event on Sunday, 17th May in Salford, celebrating Guy Clark’s catalogue and legacy, featuring himself, UK/Texan duo the Dimestore Dirtbags, and Americana UK’s ex-Features Editor, Clint West, spinning the songs of Guy Clark and other Texas troubadours. All proceeds from the event will be donated to The Station pub hub in Ashton-under-Lyne, which feeds and supports over 100 people each day.
Americana UK’sMartin Johnson caught up with Matt at home in the Peak District over Zoom to discuss the tribute concert and what Guy Clark means to Matt Hill, the singer-songwriter. Matt explains that while he has written songs since he was a teenager, he didn’t have the confidence to release his own album until he was in his thirties. It is clear that he lives to write songs and that he has a deep appreciation and love of Guy Clark’s work. This love of songwriting has also motivated Matt’s community songwriting work. Matt Hill likes to bring change, and he hopes the Salford event will refresh people’s memories of Guy Clark and introduce his catalogue to those who have yet to hear him. Finally, it is only fitting for Matt to have the final word, “Guy is my favourite songwriter within the Americana genre, and I wanted to do something to mark this anniversary. We’ll gather to listen to Guy’s recordings and also hear them played live. I hope it’ll be a relaxed afternoon in good company to honour and remember the great man. ”
