Sturtz & Matthew Fowler

Sturtz and Matthew Fowler at Roots Music Project!

About Sturtz:
Sturtz’s music stands out for its distinctive, soothing instrumental and vocal harmonies. The acoustic quartet – Andrew Sturtz [vocals, guitar], Jim Herlihy [banjo], Courtlyn Carpenter [cello], and Will Kuepper [bass] – falls somewhere at the intersection of folk and soul, with lead singer Andrew Sturtz’s melodic vocals soaring over the lower string instrumentals.

Sturtz is based in Boulder, CO, and has toured across the U.S. opening for groups like the Eli Young Band, Trout Steak Revival, Lillie Mae, the Band of Heathens, and Smooth Hound Smith. NPR’s All Songs Considered described the band as “a reassuring breath of fresh air that pulls me back to simpler times” in their April 2020 blog. Sturtz released their debut album You’ve Done this Before in August 2021, and now they are hard at work touring on this album and writing songs for their next album. When they’re not playing music, you’ll probably find them milling flour, farming, laying in a creek, or eating native foliage.

About Matthew Fowler:
“Some people are good at separating themselves from their art,” says Matthew Fowler, “but I’ve never been able to do that. I live and breathe these songs every single day.”
Beginning in the kitchen of his parent’s Floridian home and at the age of 14, Matthew has not only been writing but recording original music, songs that would eventually lead to his debut full length LP titled Beginning (released at the age of 19) – a stripped-down batch of live performances aptly titled. He followed up the release with a Hail Mary, open-ended tour across the US that, to this day, has not ended. Recent years has landed him an official showcase at Americana Fest in Nashville and Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, a placement of a song on MTV, nearly 400 concerts (including opening slots for Richard Thompson, Damien Jurado, Angel Olsen), and a record deal.

In 2021, seven years after his debut album, Matthew released his sophomore LP via Signature Sounds Records – The Grief We Gave Our Mother. The album, produced by acclaimed producer Shane Leonard and mixed by Grammy-winning producer/engineer Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, etc), has garnered significant praise and has amassed an organic growth of 50-70% listenership since March 1 on Spotify and now has topped nearly 300,000 monthly listeners.
The live performance is an elegant, emotionally charged concert of gritty grandeur and vulnerable intimacy driven by raw and direct vocals hinting at everything from Damien Rice and Glen Hansard to Ray LaMontagne and Ben Howard. It’s an overwhelmingly rich and rootsy vibe.

Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
All ages.
Bar on premises

Roots Music Project is a non-profit local music incubator based in Boulder, Colorado. We believe in the power of music to make the world a better place. All music starts locally. We empower artists, fans, and venues to connect and create a thriving and inspiring local music scene. RootsMusicProject.org
4747 Pearl St, Ste V3A Boulder, CO 80301