Music of the Mountains: Matthew Earle and Joshua Ray

Many of Matthew Earle Schexnyder’s musical influences come from his home state, Louisiana. He is particularly inspired by country-folk, singer-songwriter stylings, with Merle Haggard, Jason Isbell, Alan Jackson, Neil Young, and Willie Nelson among his influences.Earle, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, flew Air Force helicopters as a long-time career, traveling around the country to states such as New Mexico, Alabama, Texas, and Georgia. He also traveled to countries such as Turkey, Afghanistan, South Africa, Mozambique, and Liberia.Settling in Iceland with his wife, they relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, in order to raise their two young daughters. Eventually, the family impulsively moved to Boulder, where Earle first dove into performing and writing songs.In 2018, Earle took a bluegrass ensemble class and connected with two other people there – Joshua Ray and his wife, Brandy. Earle and Joshua connected quickly through their musical interests and ambitions.Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here. Support the showThank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below.If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact:Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected] Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected] Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected] inquiries: [email protected] to our website for all of the latest news. Subscribe to The Mountain-Ear in print and online.Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website.Find us on Facebook @mtnear and Instagram @mtn.earListen and watch on YouTube today.Share this podcast by scrolling to the bottom of our website home page or by heading to our main hub on Buzzsprout.Thank you for listening!