Since beginnings busking in hometown Melbourne spanning the 2010’s—Australian singer/songwriter Matt Katsis has continued to introduce his blues, roots and folk stirred sounds to audiences far and wide for over the past decade.

The seed was planted at age 9 when Matt started learning the guitar. Now well over 2 decades on, with percussive elements of 6 & 9-string acoustic-electrified guitars, stomp box & tambourine at the core—be it the delicate fingerpicked folk ballad or foot stompin’ down-home blues, Katsis nods to tradition and legacy while adopting a modern approach by way of textural sonic landscapes crafted live as well as in the studio.

Support shows with Australian blues & roots aficionados, Jeff Lang and Backsliders (Dom Turner, Rob Hirst) stand as memorable moments in past years alongside performances at Blues on Broadbeach (QLD), Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival (NSW) & Echuca-Moama Winter Blues Festival (VIC/NSW) in recent years.

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Following a short stint of shows in Oregon, USA, an opportunity that arose after been awarded Bruthen Blues Festival’s International Musician's Challenge in the Summer of 2014, Matt’s EP “The Burke & Wills Sessions”, received warm welcome in North America & Canada in 2016 when his version of J.J. Cale's' 'Call Me The Breeze '' featured on Apple Music’s 'The A-List: Blues' & 'Roadhouse Blues' Playlists. Sitting alongside Internationally acclaimed Blues artist's such as Joe Bonamassa & Bonnie Raitt, the track has since clocked up over half a million streams across all digital platforms.

His 2017 EP As The River Runs & 2019’s Live At The Wheaty (The Wheatsheaf, Adelaide) encompasses his distinctive fusion while hinting at influences of alt. Country, largely inspired by his travels through North America’s West and the deep South in the years prior.

Late-2021 saw the release of retrospective album “Over The Horizon”, with Matt’s early guitar instrumentals alongside songs from earlier years—some revisited and other’s entirely recreated.

When speaking about “Over The Horizon”, Matt explains;

“This actually wasn’t the album I had planned to make! There was a full album’s worth of tracks I was working on through early lockdowns of 2020 and of those songs I found were darker and introspective in comparison. I guess it came as a response to all the sudden changes, the shake up across the world and all the things that came to be wrapped up in that.

During that time I was revisiting some of my older recordings - early instrumentals and tracks with my rhythm section bandmates from way back, which was where writing my own original music began. I was chipping away at these past songs from home enjoying the nostalgia of going back through listening to the mixes but with no real plan. Before too long, inspiration struck and I was overdubbing guitars, backing vocals, playing drums, percussion, putting down bass lines and even mandolin on some of the more stripped back tracks and there it was, 10 revisited tracks from sometime ago, plus a couple ambient interludes that became ‘Over The Horizon’.

The process was really positive and it kept me inspired through some personal and externally challenging times. It served a great reminder in getting back to my roots, I feel the anchor in the history and memories the songs, which helped me reflect on the things that drew me to guitar and music in the beginning. If not just for that reason alone, I can’t think of a better collection of songs for the album, even if it took a retrospective to land here.”

Anticipating his second album—singles’ “Bones” & “The Front Page” came as fresh sounds in 2021, a follow up to low-down holler, “Love & Gravity” (featured on Spotify’s ‘Just Me & The Blues’ editorial playlist in 2023), which were all recorded from his home in Central Victoria mid-2020.

The full-length second album “Transits” is out now.

|   F E S T I V A L S P L A Y E D  |

 Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival | Blues on Broadbeach | Queenscliff Music Festival | Bruthen Blues & Arts Festival | Melbourne Moomba Festival | White Night Melbourne | White Night Ballarat | The Basin Music Festival | Globe 2 Globe World Music Festival | Groundswell Festival | Mordialloc by the Bay Festival | Kingston Harvest Festival | Frankston Waterfront Festival | Blueprint Festival | Montalto Awakening Festival | Mt. Eliza Music Festival | Boolarra Folk Festival | Swagger Music Festival | Tanglewood Festival | Tooberac Blues & Roots Music Festival | Benalla Wall-to-Wall Festival | Bendigo Craft Beer & Cider Festival | Nightjar Festival Torquay | Kiama Folk By The Sea | Main Street Mornington Festival | Illawarra Folk Festival | San Antone Smokehouse Festival | Womin Djeka Balnarring Festival | St Kilda Blues Festival | St Kilda Festival (Acland Street Sounds) | Perisher Peak Festival | Echuca-Moama Winter Blues | Marysville Jazz & Blues Weekend | Mornington Peninsula Blues Festival | Katherine Outback Blues (online) Festival | Darker Days Festival | Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival | Blues Takeover Broken Hill

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Check out the 2017 mini-documentary/interview by RESFILMS |  Matt Katsis - ‘A Brief Background’ as it takes a look back to where a life in music began — from early beginnings busking & gigging in Melbourne and affinity to the acoustic guitar.

Also read Matt’s interview with Culture Mad Magazine, from August 2019 shortly following the release of ‘Live At The Wheaty’.

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1st Place | Queenscliff Music Festivals Favourite Busker, 2013 (VIC), Warracknabeal 'Y Fest' Favourite Busker, 2014 (VIC), Bruthen Blues Festival International Musicians Challenge , 2015 (USA Tour – Oregon)

Semi Finalist | Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society (MBAS) Blues Performer of the Year - solo/duo category, 2016 (VIC) , Byron Bay Bluesfest Busking Competition, 2016 (NSW)

Finalist | Perisher Peak Festival Upload, 2018 (NSW), Busker’s by the Creek Festival singer/songwriter showcase, 2018 (QLD), Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society (MBAS) Blues Performer of the Year - solo/duo category, 2018 & 2024 (VIC)