PREVIEW: MATT WOODS at THE BASEMENT on 11/3/16

Americana artist (and proficient bowler) Matt Woods is smack dab in the midst of a tour celebrating the release of his latest album How To Survive; his travels bring him to The Basement in Nashville, his new hometown, on Thursday, November 3rd.

How To Survive is 12 countrified storytelling stunners brought to life in Woods’ East Tennessee twang–he wasn’t always into rockicana though; “I was writing really bad heavy metal songs when I was a kid before I learned to play guitar,” he laughs. “I read a lot, wrote stories and songs, and it all got directed toward music.”

“My dad played country records all the time when I was a kid, Merle Haggard, George Jones, all the heavy hitters,” he continues. “As I hit adolescence, I found myself drawn to heavy metal and alt-rock, but I’ve come full circle these days.”

“This record is probably my most introspective one to date; I’ve always written storytelling songs, but this one is more or less a personal journey,” he explains of How To Survive. “I hit a point in life when I had to make some big changes—I sold my house in Knoxville, the town I’d lived in for 22 years, and moved everything to Nashville. I’m on the road about 10 months a year, and it didn’t make sense to stay there; Nashville just made sense. It was a good place to land.”

Woods will perform at the local landmark at 7:00p.m., with Americana up-and-comers like M. Lockwood Porter and Kent Goolsby following. “I can’t wait,” says Woods. “It’s going to be a good night at The Basement.”