A Minnesota-based outlaw country music act, headed by blind singer and guitarist Matt Arthur.

Matt Arthur has spent most of his life living just outside Hope, in rural Southern Minnesota. He learned to sing by listening to gospel records from Tennessee Ernie Ford and Johnny Cash, and decided that’s what he wanted to do when he grew up. He gave it a good shot in the 1990s, when his first band (Prest Asbestus) played everywhere in the Twin Cities, sharing stages with such local luminaries as Babes in Toyland, Run Westy Run, and Soul Asylum—as well as national acts that included Vic Chesnutt, Tad, and the Afghan Whigs. When the band ultimately fizzled, however, Matt headed back south and settled in tiny Ellendale (pop. 691).

But settling wasn’t really Matt’s style. So, after shaking things up a bit as a member of the local town council, he wrote and recorded a solo album of folk-gospel songs. While the recording proved to be not-churchy-enough for the religiously inclined, and utterly bewildering to the indie rock crowd, it unleashed a taste for songwriting that has produced over 50 original tunes to date.

Late-blooming Minnesota singer-songwriter Becky Kapell writes gritty, no-nonsense songs that come from the crossroads of old-time rock and roll and country. Always walking the line between mischief and heartache, her music doesn’t shy away from life’s truths and her own shortcomings, and with over 50 years of life’s ups and downs, she has plenty of material to draw from. Working with her all-star band The Fat 6, Kapell has quickly become a fixture in the Twin Cities music scene, sharing the stage with some of Americana’s biggest acts like Southern Culture on the Skids, Rosie Flores and Wayne Hancock and The Cactus Blossoms. Becky released her third album In It to Win It in 2022 which was recorded during the pandemic with partner and bandmate Paul Bergen. The album made several year-end favorite lists and mixes the raw grooves of Lucinda Williams, the haunting sounds of Emmylou, and the classic rock and roll feel of Nick Lowe.

The Matt Arthur Contraption