Grand Ole Opry’s NextStage Class of 2024 Chase Matthew visit to the Knit was just part of bigger national tour

The stock of Chase Matthew has been on the rise, and he’s taking fellow Tennessee native Austin Williams with him.

Growing up just outside of the country music mecca that is Nashville, Matthew has long seen the possibilities of the genre and the places it could take you. He just never thought it could happen to him.

Fast-forward a decade or two, and Matthew has seen a spree of hits and charting tracks over the course of the 2020s. He has garnered over a billion streams and is part of the Grand Ole Opry’s NextStage Class of 2024.

Matthew has a wide array of popular songs, from the platinum-certified “County Line” to his latest single “Darlin.’” But the title track of his 2022 debut album “Born for This” may remain his favorite (so far, at least).

“It’s definitely one that resonates with me all the way to the core,” Matthew said. “It’s definitely a special song, not only for me, but for fans that come to shows.”

Matthew has been able to tour as an opener for some of the biggest names in modern country music, including Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan. Next year, he will be opening for Keith Urban in Australia.

Sharing the same stage as some of his heroes is a dream realized, but Matthew has also been able to learn a lot from their top-notch crews and actively tries to take in as much of the experience as he can.

“It’s been so much fun,” Matthew said. “There’s so many awesome people to learn from and I can’t wait to maybe do it again one day.”

Matthew worked with Flo Rida earlier this year when he was sought out for a verse and vocals on a single. Matthew quickly sent the results to Flo Rida and his team; within three weeks the end result titled “Floats Your Boat” was released.

“It was so fast-paced, but I loved it,” Matthew said.

Needless to say, it’s been a big year for the genre-bending artist, but Matthew is already looking to 2025.

On Feb. 21, he’ll be playing a hometown headliner in the form of the legendary Ryman Auditorium. He has also confirmed his next full-length album will be released that same week – although the record’s title and set number of tracks are yet to be finalized.

“That show’s going to be crazy, I’m really excited for it,” Matthew said. “It’s something I’ve been looking forward to my whole life … There’s a lot of great things to celebrate that week and stoked for it.”

For now, Matthew is rounding out 2024 with a run of headlining shows, including a recent stop at the Knitting Factory on Nov. 14.

Joining him was another country riser by the name of Austin Williams.

The two first met when Williams was playing one of his many local gigs in north-central Tennessee at a bar and grill that Matthew and his manager happened to be at.

Matthew, who was still relatively new to the game around 2021, happened to have a hometown headliner coming up and asked Williams to open for him after his impressive performance.

“It was the first time I played for a significant amount of people, and I had no business being there,” Williams said. “Me and Chase hit it off and he’s been one of my best friends ever since.”

Their meeting was a stroke of luck in multiple ways, besides the sheer chance of it all. Williams was initially set to play college baseball in Memphis and get a degree in special education, but the more he played these local shows during his high school years, the more he fell in love with music and songwriting in particular.

Williams made a deal with his parents: one year to make writing songs a living.

Now (with the help of some TikTok traction), he has done just that while his love for songwriting has only grown. Whether it’s a fun pick-me-up tune or one of the “classic country breakup” kind, he finds inspiration in hoping to help people in any way with his music.

“We go through problems, we feel alone, and it’s cool to be able to make somebody feel like they’re a part of something that’s bigger than just music,” Williams said. “It’s about the people that listen.”

Similar to Matthew, Williams looks to have his debut full-length album out next year, but for the time being, he’ll be joining his good friend on the road with opening acoustic sets. And as the two grow ever busier, he’s looking forward to finally getting some quality time together.

“It’ll be so cool to actually get to kick it for a while,” Williams said.