Sal's site
As a child growing up in Bloomington, Illinois, Matthew Curry was so consumed by the guitar that his parents occasionally had to drag him out of his bedroom just to get him to play outside with friends. That early obsession reached a fever pitch after he acquired his first electric guitar and began methodically decoding the riffs of Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
“I was obsessed with it,” says Curry, whose journey started on a miniature First Act instrument. “I would play in the mornings before school and all afternoon and evening after I got home.”
All those hours in isolation paid off. Now 29, Curry plays with a ferocious, head-turning intensity and a natural knack for writing durable, hook-laden songs. He has been recording and performing live for over two decades—a timeline made possible because he was already gigging in local bars as a kid. Over the years, he has shared stages with rock royalty, touring alongside Journey, The Doobie Brothers, Peter Frampton, and Steve Miller, the latter of whom became a close friend and mentor.
Curry’s musical lineage began at home. His father, Paul, kept a steady soundtrack playing through the house and in his truck, exposing his son to everything from Lynyrd Skynyrd and James Taylor to The Beatles, Albert Collins, and Roy Clark. On quiet evenings, Paul—who passed away in 2012 from a brain aneurysm—would sit in his recliner, strumming his acoustic guitar.
Learning to navigate that initial First Act guitar required a pivot. Curry, a natural lefty, originally flipped the instrument upside down to play.
“My dad tried to get me to play right-handed, but it just didn’t feel right,” recalls Curry, who now lives near Nashville. “Thankfully, he was musically aware enough to flip the strings for me. He pretty much started teaching me chords and songs right away.”
That early support launched a blues-rock prodigy. As a kid, Curry became a staple in local music hubs, frequenting spots like Memphis on Main in downtown Champaign, where he jammed alongside regional staples like Dave Lindsey and the southern rock outfit Renegade.
“I have a ton of memories playing music in Champaign-Urbana,” Curry says. “It was a huge part of my youth and musical upbringing, and I’m forever thankful for the musicians in that area who took me under their wing.”
Curry returns to his home turf this June for a sweep of Illinois dates across Ottawa, Urbana, Shelbyville, Peoria, Normal, and Monticello. For him, stepping onto an Illinois stage feels less like a gig and more like a homecoming with old friends.
“I still see people who’ve been following my career ever since I was 9 or 10 years old playing in bars doing cover tunes,” Curry says. “It’s a humbling thought that my music is still important to them after all these years.”
That long history is reflected in his catalog. His 2016 EP, Shine, delivers a bombastic, swaggering energy reminiscent of The Black Crowes and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He followed it with 2019’s Open Road, an album packed with crowd-pleasers like “On My Way,” “The Great Midwest,” and the title track, alongside strong standalone singles like 2022’s “Don’t Be a Stranger” and 2023’s “Barely Livin’.”
Though still in his 20s, Curry carries the stage presence, sound, and battle-tested mindset of an old soul. Life on the road is taxing, but despite alternative opportunities along the way, his commitment to writing, touring, and performing remains absolute.
“I always tell folks I’m not qualified to do anything else,” he jokes.
Following a heavy touring schedule, Curry is gearing up to drop fresh singles leading into a new full-length album—a project he describes as an all-out rock-and-roll record infused with his signature blues and southern rock DNA, anchored by heavy riffs and soaring vocal melodies.
“I feel like the music, songwriting, and singing are always developing,” Curry says. “And I think this new album will reflect that.”