Matt Sircely | Folk / Bluegrass / Swing

Finnriver is pleased to Matt Sircely!

Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Sircely cherishes each opportunity to showcase his favorite songs and melodies at solo shows, often with a little storytelling to set the scene. Matt pens songs in a diversity of styles and performs them on guitar, mandolin, tenor guitar and octave mandolin.

Over the years, he has performed in a wide range of folk, blues and swing styles, country and bluegrass outfits, Latin American roots styles, klezmer music, Cajun music, old-time square dances, and free jazz ensembles. Most recently, he began digging deeply into fiddle tunes from a repertoire in Southwestern Pennsylvania where his great-great grandparents once ran a dance hall. He has also written several songs directly inspired by his family history and details from his grandmother’s tales.

A member of the string swing ensemble Hot Club Sandwich for the last 25 years, Matt contributed two songs to the most recent album, No Pressure, which features mandolin master David Grisman on half of the tracks. No Depression described one of Matt’s songs as “timeless” in their review of the album. One summer in 2008, while performing in the Finnriver blueberry patch Sircely and late-great drummer and vocalist Joseph Mascorella co-founded the roots fusion band New Forge. Together, they worked for years to reach new heights in composition and collective improvisation. Some of the band’s most memorable shows took place at Finnriver Farm events. Under a Finnriver sponsorship in 2012, the group introduced audiences to Finnriver cider all the way from Portland to Bellingham. Matt also played in a duo with Danny Barnes for many years, including a frigid early show at the original Finnriver Farm when the needle dropped into the low twenties.

At home in East Jefferson County, Matt enjoys spending time working in his garden and seed saving. He has programmed the music at Jefferson County Farmers Markets for several years and has taught music in most of our local schools.

*30 minutes before music starts, a $5/person cover charge (excluding children under 12) will be collected. All funds go to the artists.