By Tori Couch
Photography by Dustin McLaughlin
Matthew McNeal barely has free time these days.
The clock is ticking on the April 4 release date for the singer-songwriter’s newest alternative/indie album and fifth studio LP, “High Lonesome.” McNeal released a single called “Dropped the Ball” in December as an album teaser.
“People say don’t release music in like December, January, [the] slow time of year,” he says. “But that one did better than any single we’d ever put out. I think people were just drawn to it.”
Another uncommon practice is touring during the first few months of the year, but McNeal had just returned from a prerelease tour. He would pack up his bags a few days later to perform at South by Southwest Conference & Festivals and at Luck Reunion, a music festival held on country singer Willie Nelson’s ranch.
As McNeal, 32, describes the inspiration for the latest album, no stone is left unturned. He talks about the ups and downs associated with the companies he runs with childhood friend and bandmate Andre Black. The duo created record label Matte Black Sound in 2017 and started Roadrunner Production Services in 2019.
The album name carries a lot of personal meaning too — it’s the title of the first song McNeal sang to a love interest as a teenager, his stepdad used it as a username, and his wife’s family has property in west Texas near an area called High Lonesome.
“We always write from the heart and write what we know,” McNeal says. “And this one, I think, the records just keep getting better and better because there’s more life lived.”
McNeal’s mentor Tom Martens, vice president of creative, film and music at Visit Fort Worth, got a sneak peek of the album and notes McNeal’s evolution as a musician is on full display.
“There’s a soulfulness to it,” Martens says. “There’s an Americana, country tinge to it, and there’s this kind of rock ‘n’ roll sound to it. But it’s not one of those three things, it’s more. It’s bigger; the sum of its parts make it a bigger piece.”
Martens met McNeal about six years ago after one of McNeal’s concerts. McNeal’s DIY, find-a-way-to-get-it-done mentality left an immediate impression on Martens. He also noticed McNeal is a “connector of people,” a trait that has greatly benefited the local music community.
Roadrunner is a way McNeal creates some of those connections. The production company assists with events at venues like Dickies Arena, AT&T Stadium, Toyota Music Factory, Will Rogers Auditorium and Tannehill’s Tavern & Music Hall. McNeal and Black will work events, but make sure their fellow musicians have ample opportunities.
“I can’t honestly name a musician that hasn’t been impacted by that somewhat,” says Martens, who oversees Hear Fort Worth, an initiative aimed at building up support and awareness for the local music scene. “If there’s slow dates or they’re not playing and Matthew and Andre need someone to drive someone or to be backstage, these are opportunities that pay musicians and our creative community that didn’t exist.”
McNeal landed in Fort Worth after graduating from UT Arlington with a business degree. He grew up as an only child in Terrell, started playing drums at 12 years old and soon picked up a guitar. Performance opportunities came through church and a DIY music venue McNeal helped run. While in high school, he worked his first show as a production runner as well.
He began touring in 2013 and released a studio album, “Compadre,” in 2015. Matte Black Sound formed while looking for a record label to produce the second album, “Good Luck,” and became a hub for everything done under the McNeal brand.
While building a music career, McNeal has faced his share of hardships. His dad passed away shortly before “Good Luck” released in 2018, and 2019 brought a new set of challenges. McNeal and his wife married that year, but they also experienced a house fire, their identities were stolen, and McNeal totaled his car in a wreck. Roadrunner then encountered financial struggles when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
Obstacles like those rarely slow McNeal down, though. He’s always looking ahead and has learned to find the good in even the toughest moments.
“That mindset and living in abundance, whether you have it like that or not, rather than scarcity, it helps you be a light to the world and to others,” McNeal says. “And I think that works on a personal level and in music and creativity. I’m just excited to get this record out into the world and share it.”