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Dave Matthews Wiki Information

David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) ^[1] is an African-American Grammy Award-winning musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band.

DAVE MATTHEWS TICKETS

EVENT	DATE	AVAILABILITY
Dave Matthews Band Tickets 5/24	May 24, 2025 Sat, 8:00 PM
Dave Matthews Band Tickets 5/27	May 27, 2025 Tue, 7:30 PM
Dave Matthews Band Tickets 5/30	May 30, 2025 Fri, 7:30 PM
Dave Matthews Band Tickets 5/31	May 31, 2025 Sat, 7:30 PM
Dave Matthews Band Tickets 6/3	Jun 03, 2025 Tue, 7:30 PM

Early life

David John Matthews was born in Johannesburg, the third of four children born to John and Valerie Matthews. At two years old, Matthews' family migrated to Yorktown Heights in Westchester County, New York, where his father, a physicist, started working for IBM. ^[2]

In 1974, the family moved to Cambridge, England, for a year before returning to New York, where his father died from lung cancer in 1977. Biographer Nevin Martell argues that Dave's father's death may be an impetus for his "carpe diem" lyrics. ^[3] At some point while residing in New York, Matthews attended his first concert when his mother took him to a performance by Pete Seeger. ^[4] The family moved back to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1980.

Upon Matthews' graduation from St Stithians College high school, he was faced with conscription into the South African military just as civil disobedience to the practice was becoming widespread. ^[5] A Quaker (and consequently pacifist), Matthews left South Africa to avoid service. ^[6]

Matthews moved to New York, then Charlottesville, Virginia in 1986, a town Matthews' family had lived in before he was born. It was in Charlottesville that he became part of the local music community. Pursuing various interests, Matthews acted in various local productions. While he was enthusiastic about music, Matthews was intimidated by the quality of local musicians when he was a bartender at a local restaurant named Miller's. He largely shied away from performing publicly. But local star (and future collaborator) Tim Reynolds had Matthews join him on stage one night, and Matthews reputedly did well. ^[7] This eventually led to his first professional musical gig at a modern dance performance by the Miki Liszt Dance Company , singing "Sensitive Feelings," composed by John D'earth and Dawn Thompson. In 1990 he hatched the idea to form his own band.

In 1994, Matthews' older sister, Anne, who lived in South Africa, was murdered by her husband, who subsequently committed suicide, on or around January 27 of that year. ^[8] The event had a drastic effect on Matthews' outlook on life. ^[9] On January 29, 1994, he performed with Tim Reynolds at The Wetlands in New York where he dedicated that performance "to her memory". Dave Matthews Band's Under the Table and Dreaming , released later that year, was dedicated to her. Anne Matthews was survived by her two children who, upon her death, traveled to America, where Dave and his younger sister Jane took responsibility for their upbringing.

Formation of Dave Matthews Band

Matthews had originally envisioned someone else singing his songs, but instead decided to use his own vocals. After writing his first few songs, including "I'll Back You Up", "The Song that Jane Likes" and "Recently", he began to consider starting his own band. Matthews formed Dave Matthews Band in early 1991 with Boyd Tinsley, LeRoi Moore, Carter Beauford, Stefan Lessard, and Peter Griesar (who left the band in 1993) while working at Miller's. The band's first show was on April 20, 1991, at the Earth Day Festival in Charlottesville. ^[10]

Music

Matthews focused primarily on his work with Dave Matthews Band from 1990 to 2003. Since that period, he has occasionally ventured outside the band in various solo performances and records.

Matthews sang on the track "Sing Along" on Blue Man Group's second album The Complex in 2003. ^[11] Later that year he released a solo album, "Some Devil", which went platinum; its single, "Gravedigger", won a Grammy Award in 2004. ^[12] To support the album, Matthews toured with a group of musicians (most of whom performed on "Some Devil") under the name Dave Matthews & Friends. ^[13]

Matthews is also a close friend of Béla Fleck. Matthews appears as a guest vocalist on Béla Fleck and the Flecktones' 1998 release Left of Cool and both Fleck and Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten have made numerous appearances both live and studio with DMB. The Flecktones also opened for DMB on several tours. ^[14] Matthews performed a duet with Emmylou Harris on "My Antonia" on her 2000 album, Red Dirt Girl. ^[15] They also appeared together on the musical television show CMT Crossroads, ^[16] where the two performed Matthews' "Gravedigger" and the folk song "Long Black Veil."

Acting

Before he was known as a musician, Matthews was an amateur actor, appearing onstage in several productions at Charlottesville's Offstage Theatre and Live Arts theater in the early 1990s; the role for which he is best remembered is as a used car salesman in Offstage Theatre's "Just Say No," directed by John Quinn, co-starring Kylie Sicher ^[17]. Dave Matthews has also acted in four feature films. He played Will Coleman in the 2003 adaptation of the novel "Where the Red Fern Grows." ^[18] In the 2005 film "Because of Winn-Dixie" (based on the novel of the same name), Matthews portrayed the character of Otis, a timid pet-shop employee. ^[19] In 2007, Matthews appeared briefly in the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry , where he plays a homosexual salesman. ^[20] In 2008, he appeared in another Adam Sandler movie, You Don't Mess with the Zohan , as a racist character named James. ^[21] He also had a significant role in Lake City with Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity, in which he portrays the character "Red." ^[22] He is currently acting in two movies, "The Other Side" with Lindsay Lohan, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jason Lee. The other movie is "In The Woods" , starring Debra Winger and Terrence Howard.

In 2007, Matthews guest starred in the Fox drama series House in the episode "Half-Wit." He played a piano-playing musical savant who ended up having half of his brain removed in order to recover from his epilepsy, but at the expense of his musical abilities. Matthews had a piano double for the complex pieces, but played the simpler pieces himself. ^[23] In the final Season One episode on House , the song "Some Devil" can be heard playing at the end. In another episode, one of the tracks from Stand Up , "You Might Die Trying" was played. ^[24]

Business

Since 2000, Matthews has been one of the board members of Farm Aid along with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young. ^[25] Matthews owns 1,340 acres (542 hectares) of farmland near Scottsville, Virginia named Maple Hill Farm, where he grows organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs through a community-supported agriculture program. The organic farm is called, "Best of What's Around," named after one of the band's songs. He also has a 4 acre (1.6 hectares) wine-growing operation, Blenheim Vineyards, which utilizes gravity flow and other gentle winemaking techniques. ^[27]

Matthews is one of the principals of ATO Records, founded in 2000. ^[28]

Personal life

Matthews married longtime partner Ashley Harper in 2000. The couple have twin daughters, Stella Busina and Grace Anne, born on August 15, 2001 and a son, August Oliver, born on June 19, 2007. They currently reside in Seattle, Washington. ^[29] In a 2001 interview, Matthews stated that he was agnostic. ^[30]

Charity

Matthews has been active in charity work, both on his own and with his bandmates. He has performed benefit concerts for music education, ^[31] Hurricane Katrina victims, ^[32] farmers, ^[33] and victims of the Virginia Tech shooting. ^[34] The band's charitable organization, the Bama Works Fund is administered by the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, benefiting charitable programs in the region. ^[35]

In 2008 he participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet, together with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. ^[36] Dave Matthews Band also donated to the Piedmont Park Conservancy, giving a portion of the profits to the park.

Politics

Although his music has often explored political and social issues, Matthews refrained from public campaigning for Presidential candidates until 2004. He cast his support strongly with Democratic nominee John F. Kerry, performing at political events including the Vote for Change tour.

Matthews also supported Barack Obama for President in 2008, both in the primaries and in the general election. ^[37] On April 6, 2008, he and Tim Reynolds played a concert titled "Change Rocks", ^[38]at Indiana University, to encourage students to register to vote. The tickets were distributed by the Obama campaign. ^[39] Questions regarding his citizenship were answered by advertisements and videos on YouTube, where he says he is a "real American" and a "real Virginian", stating that "real Virginians get out and vote". ^[40] Even though he was recently bereaved by the loss of band co-founder and saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, he and Tim Reynolds played for DNC delegates on Sunday, August 24 at Red Rocks, ^[41] and again, just Dave and Tim at the Virginia Commonwealth University, on October 26, 2008, ^[42] among other places. Matthews has often supported environmental initiatives, such as biofuel availability and the fight against global climate change.

Past and present equipment

Martin DM3MD Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar serial numbers 1, 2 and 3
Martin HD-28V Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
Martin D-35 Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
Martin D12-28 Steel 12-String Acoustic Guitar
Taylor 914C Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar (Venetian and Florentine Cutaway) ^[43]
Taylor 714 Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
Taylor 512C Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
Taylor W65 Steel 12-String Acoustic Guitar
Taylor Custom Baritone Jumbo Guitar (Based on LKSM6)
Yamaha Country Jumbo CJ-818SB 6 String Guitar
Gibson J-150 6 String Guitar
Gibson Chet Atkins SST Solid Body Acoustic Guitar (not used since 2000)
Lakewood M-32 Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
Veillette Gryphon
Veillette Baritone 12-String
Modulus Genesis Three SH
Jerry Jones Baritone Electric Guitar
Santa Cruz Bob Brozman Baritone
Dunlop Tortex .6 mm Guitar Picks
D'Addario EXP17 Strings (6-String)
D'Addario EJ39 Strings (12-String)
Matchless DC-30 Amplifier
Shure UHF Wireless System
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
Shure UHE Antenna Distro
UltraSound/BSS Audio Soundweb Custom Switcher
Korg DTR-1 Digital Tuner
Taylor GS8 (three songs on radio city album)
National Resolectric (Alligator Pie)
Taylor T5
Taylor 854ce 12-string Acoustic Guitar

Discography

Studio albums

Some Devil (2003)
Imagine We Were (2005) – as Tribe of Heaven; originally recorded in 1989

Live albums

Live at Luther College (1999) – with Tim Reynolds
Live at Radio City (2007) – with Tim Reynolds

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions			Album
Year	Single	US Mod	US Adult	US Pop	Album
2003	"Gravedigger"	35	35	—	Some Devil
2003	"Save Me"	—	26	—
2004	"Oh"	—	—	—
2007	"Eh Hee"	—	—	73	digital single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other charted songs

Year	Single	US Country	Album
2008	"I'm Alive" (with Kenny Chesney)	55	Lucky Old Sun

Guest singles

Year	Single	Artist	Chart positions			Album
			US Country	US	CAN Country
2009	"I'm Alive"^A	Kenny Chesney	19	81	21	Greatest Hits II

^A Current single. "I'm Alive" charted as an album cut in 2008 before being released as a single in 2009

Collaborations

"Fat Man In The Bathtub" (2008) off the Little Feat album "Little Feat & Friends: Join The Band"
"I'm Alive" (2008) off the Kenny Chesney album Lucky Old Sun
"Tremendous Brunettes" (2007) off the Mike Doughty album Haughty Melodic
"Work It Out" (2006) off the Jurassic 5 album Feedback
"Sing Along" (2003) off the Blue Man Group album The Complex with music video
"Love Is The Only Way" (2006) off the Robert Randolph and the Family Band album Colorblind
"Joyful girl"(2002) off the Soulive album - Next
"For You"(2002) off the We Were Soldiers Soundtrack with Johnny Cash
"My Antonia", (2000), off the (Emmylou Harris studio album) "Red Dirt Girl", where Dave duets with Emmylou on her composition
"Love of My Life" (1999), off the Santana album Supernatural
"Communication" and "Trouble and Strife" (1998), off the Béla Fleck and the Flecktones album Left of Cool

Awards

Grammys

1997: Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group – "So Much to Say", Dave Matthews Band
2004: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance – "Gravedigger", Dave Matthews