Matt Buckstein

by Matt Buckstein
(Denver, CO, USA)

Singing the way he sang was unexpected for a lot of people who knew him, but it came so easily. A wise man once said “If the shoe fits…” so six foot-four Matt Buckstein started writing songs and singing the way he felt most comfortable. What came out was Country. In his wildest dreams, Matt never figured that one day his performances would be watched by over 200 million people, referring of course to his time spent in the American Idol competition. After three years competing in America’s now ubiquitous cultural phenomenon, Matt eventually rose to being ranked in the top 40 out of 110,000 contestants, and because of his group-round popularity, was brought back to perform on the Season 5 finale, the first time in American Idol’s history that a rejected group was asked to return to perform. “I’d love to go back and take one more whack at it,” says Matt. “Even after living through that stress for three years, I’d gladly do it again, but they say I’ve made it too far within the competition. I guess I’ve proven myself, but to me it’s a shame that America didn’t get a chance to vote. That was always where I wanted to get. I would’ve liked to have seen what America had to say.”

In a competition of mostly higher-pitched vocalists, Matt also holds the title as the first bass-baritone to ever “rattle the speaker screws” on the American Idol main stage. “If it wasn’t me to make it, I hope a good bass singer will come along someday and really bring it home; AI could use a little variety that way,” he observes. Though Matt’s vocal style is unmistakably country, he’s able to legitimately pull off genres that are typically outside the country arena. He and his band “The Hired Guns”, comprised of local musicians from in Colorado, tackle everything from modern country, to rock, R&B and even reggae. “Evolution is happening in music everyday, and I want to be a part of it,” Matt enthusiastically proclaims, “Experimentation and thinking outside of the box is how history is made.” He may don a traditional cowboy hat and boots, but no matter what genre, every song Matt sings is uniquely and distinctly “Buckstein.”

Born and raised in Colorado, for much of his young adult life Matt was convinced that he should be an actor. He left Colorado immediately after high school to attend California State University of Fullerton to train as an actor and then eventually moved to LA to make a reach for the silver screen. His time spent in LA was destined to be brief for two reasons. A country boy at heart, Matt found himself constantly at odds with the LA lifestyle and secondly, after getting a taste of a singing career with American Idol, his focus as a performer quickly shifted. He has since moved back home to Colorado to be closer to his family and use his newfound notoriety to launch a musical career for himself. Without question, Matt Buckstein has both the talent and the drive to make his career a prosperous one. Most people who get a chance to really hear Matt in his element don’t ask “if” he’ll ever make it, but “when.”