Matt Morris is no stranger to the stage or performing. In fact he told me that he loves it and that is what called him back to the music business conveying, “I love to perform, being on stage is so much a part of who I am as a person.” When he took the Cougar Stage on Sunday at the Mile High Music Festival it was no surprise that his artistry was aglow and his audience enraptured with his soulful vocal delivery and his intricately woven lyrics. I had a chance to chat with Matt after his set and found him equally as engaging and intriguing away from the shiny tinge of the spotlight.

Getting his start in the entertainment business early Morris was cast in 90’s edition of Disney’s “All New Mickey Mouse Club” where during his four year stint he starred alongside Justin Timberlake, Brittney Spears and Christina Aguilera. However unlike his successful co-stars who opted to springboard their careers after the show was canceled, instead he returned to Denver to enjoy normalcy and a quieter adolescence saying, “I think it’s important to give yourself space when you need it and to remember that you work to support a life that you build, not the other way around. You don’t just live to work.” Adding to that, “I feel like taking some time away from it as a kid helped me to know that I could take time away from it if I need to, that life isn’t just about making music and life isn’t just about performing. There’s a lot more to it than that.”

Through the years Matt remained in contact with his Mouseketeer colleagues and eventually the pull of his artistry was too strong. “I got to a point where I felt like I had stayed back long enough and where I had enough songs that were representative of my artistry and how at least I wanted my artistry to begin, I just felt the need and the timing seemed right.” Justin Timberlake thought so too. Having recently formed his own label Tennman Records Justin asked Matt over dinner one night in New York City to be his debut artist for the label. Morris explained, “He [Timberlake] wanted for me to be able to perform the way that I perform and sing the songs that I write and he wanted to share the music with the world as authentically as possible; so that what he was sharing with them was actually the representation of me as an artist.”

Gathering inspiration from performing, his experiences and the world surrounding him, Matt Morris has put together an album richly layered with passion and meaty messages you can sink your teeth into like money, religion and love. He said, “It takes a while for songs to come together, it’s like a good stew. You put all the right ingredients in and you let it simmer for a long time and it’s better than cracking open a can and pouring it out.”

The overall package Matt’s artistry serves up is tasty and unique and truly was a breath of fresh air during the Mile High Music Festival. Aside from all the rock riffs, jam bands, pulsing bass lines and bumping beats which you can get in excess at a festival his set was the type you could just take a deep breath and melt into. Matt enjoyed it too saying, “This was home. It was great to see people in the crowd that I knew and to play to people that support me as a local artist.”

source: examiner.com