About
I’m Matt Coale, an Alt-Country and Alternative Rock artist from Shelton— a small town in Western Washington. My music leans simple on the surface — strong melodies, straightforward lyrics — but beneath that is a real effort to capture what it feels like to live through something and come out the other side. I try to write songs that make people feel something real — a little more seen, a little less alone. God has had the biggest impact on my life.
I’ve been writing songs since I was a teenager. Back then it was just a way to get feelings out, but over the years it’s become how I process life. I usually start with a rough lyric idea — sometimes just a scribbled phrase or line — and let the melody follow. If I’m lucky, the whole shape of the song shows up in minutes. I write mostly from my own life. One of my favorite songs I’ve written is “Live On,” which I originally wrote for my grandma in 2005, after she had open heart surgery. I later performed it at her wake in 2023. That impromptu performance after so many years reminded me why I do this: to connect.
A big part of my music is thanks to my wife, Sally. She’s not only my sounding board, but my creative partner. She helps me fine-tune lyrics when I’ve gone too far down the rabbit hole, and she sings backing vocals on many of my tracks — always adding just the right feeling. She also designs all of my artwork and visuals, which means essentially every part of what you see and hear has her fingerprints on it. On top of that, she’s an incredible mom to our five kids (soon to be six). I genuinely couldn’t do any of this without her.
Being a dad has changed how I approach music in the best way. It keeps me grounded and reminds me to create for the right reasons. Our kids are curious, creative, loud, and full of life. They love messing around with my drum set and keyboard — and seeing them so fearless with music makes me want to be braver in my own work. More than anything, I hope they grow up unafraid to be who they were created to be. That’s the kind of honesty I try to put into my songs.
I started out fronting a band called Midnight Frontier, and we released an EP back in 2011. After stepping back for a while, I came back with my solo debut Passing Thoughts in 2024 — a collection of songs that had been living in my notebooks for years. I’ve got a new single dropping on June 11, 2025, and a few more on the way. My long-term dream is to release another full-length album that brings together songs I’ve written across different seasons of life.
I haven’t performed live as a solo artist yet, but I have some of experience on stage from my band days. Live shows are definitely something I can see in the future — when the timing’s right. For now, most of my creative work happens in the quiet pockets of the day (or late at night), fitting music around family life. It’s not always easy to find the time, but when a song comes together, it makes all the juggling worth it.
If you’re here, thank you. I hope you take a few minutes to listen, and maybe hear something that speaks to you. My goal has always been to write songs that act like reminders — little emotional snapshots — for both me and anyone listening. Songs that say, “This mattered. This hurt. This healed.” And maybe, in doing that, we all feel a little more connected.