Matt Hartke

American musician Matt Hartke is a singer/songwriter and producer who performs soothing, pop-savvy rock that recalls the pastoral, acoustic feel of contemporaries like Jason Mraz, Ryan Tedder, and Trent Dabbs. In addition to his 2010s output, he also penned tracks for cross-genre artists such as Adam Lambert, Avicii, Matisyahu, Cash Cash, the Chainsmokers, and more. Hartke was raised in the shadow of New York City, in the small town of Verona, New Jersey. First playing drums in middle school, he later learned guitar in college, where he balanced his love of music with his pursuit of athletics (namely surfing and swimming). During his sophomore year, he made a serious shift toward music. He later moved to Newport, Rhode Island and, in addition to touring coffee shops around New England, recorded a handful of early efforts, including his full-length debut, Great Good Fortune, and the EPs Heart Songs (2009) and Organic Shelter (2010). Influenced by Jack Johnson, Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, and John Mayer, his music was upbeat and pastoral with a keen focus on melody and pop songcraft. He would further explore this style in 2016 when he issued modest hit “Gold” with singer Maggie Peake. Over the following years, he issued additional singles “Goodbye Belongs to You” and “People You Love.” In late 2018, he scored a late-year holiday hit with the unconventional tune “Not Everybody Calls It Christmas.” ~ Neil Z. Yeung