We had the good fortune of connecting with Mat Charley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mat, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Like most people who pursue anything artistic as a career, we were compelled to. That’s all it really is. There’s a lot of instability and uncertainty and risk involved, of course, and a lot of reasons to try something safer, but making music is the only thing we’ve ever wanted to do.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a band, we’re far and away most proud of our songs. That’s maybe an obvious answer, but we feel that the songs do set us apart from other artists––we don’t have any big message or branding imperative other than “we want to make great songs.” Our belief in their quality (and our desire to get as many people as possible to hear them) has certainly been a driving force in overcoming the challenges of navigating the music industry. We definitely still feel like we have a lot to learn, but putting time and care into the songs above everything else has served us well so far and hopefully will continue to.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many possible answers to this but the best answer would probably be our families. Since the band started, all three of our families have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. Trying to make music for a living is not the most traditional or most immediately rewarding thing, but our families have done a lot for us on the journey, from offering us a place to stay to coming to our shows to promoting the music to their friends. We’re very grateful for them.

Website: raynesmusic.com

Instagram: @raynesmusic

Twitter: @raynesmusic

Facebook: @raynesmusic

Youtube: @raynesmusic

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.