About

The Matchsellers are Warsaw, Indiana native Andrew Morris and Julie Bates of Kansas City, Missouri. Their exciting, gritty, and often hilarious stage show has been developed over four years of relentless touring across the US and Europe. Though deeply rooted in bluegrass and old time tradition, the pair’s respective backgrounds in electric blues guitar and classical violin– as well as a penchant for the absurd– offer a refreshing point of view. The group has been featured on various NPR and international radio stations as well as blogs including The Bluegrass Situation, Dying For Bad Music and more.

Bates and Morris met in 2012 while teaching abroad in Leipzig, Germany. They found common ground in the music of their homeland, and hobby turned to profession when they hit the road permanently a year later. Their second full-length album, Songs We Made Up,  features the duo’s excellent musicianship, tight vocal harmonies, and wacky world view, ranging from beautiful waltzes to stolen crackers. Watch out for them this year at the Folk Alliance International Conference (MO), Red Dirt Ball (OK), John Hartford Memorial Festival (IN), Boulevardia (MO), Beaver Island Music Festival (MI), Wood Tick Festival (MI),  Kendalville Bluegrass Festival (IN), Bluegrass Battles Hunger (MO), Old Mill Fest (TX) or town near you!  For booking and/or general information contact them: thematchsellers [at] gmail.com

Upcoming Concerts

July 26 River’s Edge Brewing, Milford, MI 7pm
July 27 Soggy Bottom Bar, Flint, MI 8pm
July 28 Old Dog Tavern, Kalamazoo, MI w/ Great Lakes Grass 10pm
Aug 2 Short’s Brew Co, Bellaire, MI 730pm
Aug 4-5 Wood Tick Festival, Hermanville, MI
More…

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Videos

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Photos

Photos by Mathias Kang

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Press

“…a bluegrass sound and an idiosyncratic sense of humor…echoes of the Wilders’ bluegrass and Western Swing– and lyrics like nobody else in town… their brand new point of view is a refreshing surprise.”  – KCUR, Kansas City

“Bates and Morris have an undeniable musical chemistry, creating a natural blend of rhythm, melody, and vocal harmony. Morris drove the beat with his tight strumming and had too many fine blues solos to count, while Bates added idiomatic embellishments and dominated on the fiddle classic ‘Orange Blossom Special.’ … The audience was simply enamoured with The Matchsellers, demanding an encore to which they happily obliged…if you enjoy down-home bluegrass and wild, gritty country-folk, then you must see The Matchsellers” – KCMetropolis, Missouri

“They played in barns. They played in strangers’ homes. But one thing these two rolling stones certainly didn’t do was gather moss.” – InkFree, Indiana

“What a wild and wonderful sound!” – WBOI’s Meet the Music, Indiana

“…a twisted sense of lyrical humor paired with energetic Americana music” – Norman Transcript, Oklahoma

“Unbelievably talented, wry witted, sardonic, and occasionally slapsticky–this couple is bound for glory!” – Wild Rose Moon, Indiana

“… these two incredible musicians are absolute masters of their craft. They have perfected a beautiful blend of old, new, and original and perform it with such accessible and endearing sincerity, you can’t help but fall in love with their music.” –Local Talent Stew, Indianapolis

“American emigrants folk music played on East German rooftops…”  – Dying for Bad Music, Germany

Nominated as a favorite Kansas City Emerging Artist  – The Deli, Missouri

“A New Class of Bluegrass” – Carbondale Nightlife, Illinois

“The sound here is similar to their debut but its refined and bold, mixing classical Americana elements into gospel themed tunes. This is a very mature sounding album and will please fans who are looking for something fresh on the folk front. Solid perfection!” 5/5 stars – Tuning into the Obscure, New York

 

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Contact

For all booking, radio and other inquiries email us at:

thematchsellers {at} gmail.com

or use the contact form below