Matt Brown

Prolific multi-instrumentalist brings the soul...

When Matt Brown rattles off what he's been up to lately, you wonder how the local soul, funk and R&B musician has the time to conduct this interview. Besides keeping to the strict schedule of writing, producing and releasing a new single the third Friday of every month, and gigging as a solo artist, Brown is part of not one, not two, but three musical groups, along with being an integral member of the artist collective, Soulfam... - The Atlantic Current

West Palm Beach’s Wavvyday makes music for pool parties, outdoor couch sessions, and summer daze. - Bored In Pittsburgh

If your playlists are lacking in some organically soulful feel-good rhythms, look no further than Matt Brown’s latest single “Grasshopper”. - A&R Factory

This isn’t the first time I’ve stumbled across Matt Brown’s staggeringly soulful sounds; his debut track Mona Lisa has had me hooked on his sound since I first hit play. - A&R Factory

Short, sweet and laced with lashings of funk, Grasshopper is a tune designed to make you move – and it does just that. Matt Brown’s soulful vocals complement the smooth, soul synths perfectly, with a foot-tapping beat to boot. - Xune Magazine

Musicians in West Palm Beach call SunFest 2022 the 'great escape'
WLRN 91.3 FM | By Wilkine Brutus
Published April 15, 2022 at 10:32 AM EDT
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

WLRN
Matt Brown is a multi-instrumentalist, community advocate, and co-founder of the arts collective Soulfam. Brown spoke to WLRN at the Grandview Public Market in West Palm beach on April 12, 2022.
SunFest, the eclectic festival on West Palm Beach’s Intracoastal Waterway, is returning after a two year pandemic hiatus. About 50 performers from Slightly Stoopid and Black Pumas to Lil Wayne and Sam Hunt will hit three stages in four days alongside art installations and food vendors.

WLRN is here for you, even when life is unpredictable. Our journalists are continuing to work hard to keep you informed across South Florida. Please support this vital work. Become a WLRN member today. Thank you.

Musicians throughout Palm Beach County say the link between music and community is undeniable. Matt Brown is a multi-instrumentalist, community advocate, and co-founder of the arts collective Soulfam.

The West Palm Beach native, who plans to perform with an 8-piece band, says the return of Sunfest is like a form of therapy for the city. The first-time performer said his father, a jazz musician, influenced his perspective about the power of music.

“We all need that positivity to balance out the constant negativity that’s been driven into society from all different angles,” Brown said. “And music is that form that can provide positive influence. Whether you consider yourself a musician or not, my dad used to say ‘we all need listeners.’ "

SunFest is scheduled to run from Thursday, April 28 to Sunday, May 1st.

The festival had partnered with 1909, the non-profit known for cultivating space for creatives, technologists and small startups, to find and showcase "Fresh Local Artists.”

WLRN
Sko Gudiño is a hip-hop artist and member of SoulFam collective. He's a first-time performer at SunFest 2022. Gudiño spoke to WLRN at the Subculture Coffeeshop in West Palm Beach on April 7, 2022.
Sko Gudiño, who was also part of the series, is a hip-hop artist and member of SoulFam collective. He's also a first-time performer at SunFest. Gudiño says music has helped him prove doubters wrong and get through these past two years. He calls this year’s music and art festival the “great escape” from pandemic living.

“It’s therapy to write. So if I didn’t have music I can only imagine how I would feel or maybe I would be trapped in like a black hole that I couldn’t get out of,” Gudiño said. "Because everyone has to find a way to get that stuff out and I get it out through music.”

The Fresh Local Artist lineup also includes: American Sigh, Bonn E Maiy, Chris Pierce, Citizen Badger, Crush Company, iDiaz, Indigo Dreamers, Joey Calderaio Band, Public Sounds, Rogue Theory, and Topless in Tokyo.

Tags
News Local NewsSunFestPalm Beach CountyWest Palm Beachmusic festivalarts and culturefestivalNews
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Wilkine Brutus
Wilkine Brutus is a reporter and producer for WLRN and a guest faculty member at the Poynter Institute. The South Florida native produces stories on topics surrounding local news, culture, art, politics and current affairs. - WLRN - NPR

It’s been an exciting year for soul musician, activist, and founder of the Soulfam Collective, Matt Brown. Playing venues across the Palm Beaches, Frank talks with Matt about how his love for music began, culminating with a performance at SunFest for the first time in 2022! - PBS

Continuing the art scene just off the Dixie Highway Corridor is PB County’s newest Art Collective, The Peach. Carved out of a warehouse block with an old wooden storage building, SubCulture Group’s Rodney Mayo has created an inclusive, free form space that holds monthly art walk weekends, live entertainment, creative vendors, open art studios, and Troy’s BBQ.

An open space courtyard holds seesaw art, a room for vendors, and a covered stage area, there will also be educational and community events. A 4-foot high neon peach sign illuminates the site.

Right now, the warehouse spaces are cleaned up, air-conditioned, and filled with an unusual variety of artist spaces. Former WPB Magazine cover boy Craig McInnis is the manager of The Peach’s cooperative with six units and space for 12 artist studios.

McInnis and Mayo are hoping The Peach will be a regular source of community entertainment with two-night weekend art walks, DJs and vendors, and guest artists and bands performing on non-art-walk weekends. The artist tenants of The Peach will host regular educational components, workshops, and classes.

The third location of Troy’s BBQ, Troy Davis’ acclaimed barbecue restaurant – also in Boynton Beach and Boca Raton – has opened in a renovated wooden building with indoor and outdoor dining and a bar. Troy’s provided free meals for thousands of newly laid-off restaurant workers during the height of the pandemic last year.

Opening weekend found a three-day blowout with live music by Matt Brown, Derek Mack Band, food, drinks, DJ Bo Weezy, art, and more. We lined up with the other fest-goers for a taste. Choosing between the pulled pork, brisket, and the chicken was difficult, especially after seeing – and smelling – the juicy BBQ being made right next door in the giant smoker. We got the pulled pork sandwich, made on a light fluffy bun, doused with spicy sauce. A side of house-made coleslaw and lemonade completed the meal, though the chess pie and banana pudding looked awfully tempting.

Art at PB County’s newest Art Collective, The Peach
Food at PB County’s newest Art Collective, The Peach
“First, get the fire just right. You don’t want a flame — no flames, just smoke. Get good ribs. I use three-and-a-half-down spareribs,” Troy Davis, the pit-boss and owner of Troy’s BBQ, referring to a butcher’s designation of size. “These are most recognizable as a St. Louis-style sparerib, preferred to baby backs for long and slow cooking.”

As for the wood, Davis says: “I use a combination of charcoal and oak. I don’t have a thermometer on the big smoker outside. You do it a while and you know the heat’s right. I keep it at around 350, 375; a normal heat, with vents in the smoker. And I cook with the hood down to keep the smoke in and keep the meat tender and falling off the bone.”

A SubCulture coffee booth fueled the rest of the afternoon while grooving to the sounds of another WPB Magazine cover boy Matt Brown. A full lineup with horns and percussion kept the beat going all afternoon despite the heat.

One of the art spaces is Blink Studios, run by Gina and Michaela Kyle.

Gina is a self-trained artist who creates large scaled artworks of several disciplines. Michaela Kyle, an active member of the South Florida art community since 2008, is also self-taught, her illustrations and paintings are inspired by the inner world using graphite and ink drawings, and richly colored paintings.

At the Mind Like Sky Studio, Alex Powers, an avid fisherman, creates artwork inspired by the sea. Now a Florida resident, he is looking forward to creating new work at the Peach.

Craig McInnis’s new studio is clean and spacious, with clothing and art supplies added to the artwork for sale. Pulling out of Northwood, he now manages The Peach. In addition to his full-time art career, he also runs the annual Fright Night at South Florida Fairgrounds which returns this year to give us all a scare.

Alex Lorenzo, a West Palm Beach native is the president of ALL AXIS Studios. His career spans over three decades acting as both a designer and educator who specializes in Computer-Aided Design and 3D technology including 3D printing.

SEE ALSO
‘4000 Miles’ is a fascinating comedy drama, character-driven play
ENTERTAINMENT
‘4000 Miles’ is a fascinating comedy drama, character-driven play
At Art of Recovery, Manny Mendez runs art programs for ex-convicts and those in recovery. Mendez was born in Cuba and migrated to the US in 1980 at 9 yrs old. “I adapted well for the first few years until I hit my teens, says Mendez. “Then a shift took place for the worst and I became a troubled youth, I found myself in juvenile programs and detention centers a lot. It was there that I got close to art, just drawing!”

Next door, Ates Isildak uses short films, music videos, and photography, to create a safe space and medium in which marginalized communities can exuberantly express themselves.

As a new community space, The Peach is providing a cool new hang for art, music, food, and creativity. Take a bite.

Online at: ThePeachwpb.com - West Palm Beach Magazine

Art, entertainment, culture, travel reviews, dining, and interesting feature stories to explore and discover the best of West Palm Beach and beyond.

Out of stock


SKU: 14474412527415-1 Category: Magazine Editions Tag: new editions
Share
Description
Release Date: 04/08/2021 (On stands until 06/30/2021)

In this issue: A feature story on local musicians keeping the beat going, new art by Dana Donaty, Interview with Chef Loïc Autret, travel tips for a road trip, wealth management, trends, dining suggestions, and much more. - West Palm Beach Magazine