The Matchsellers are Andrew Morris, Julie Bates and Kevin Schmidt. The project began when Morris (Warsaw, Indiana) and Bates (Kansas City, MO) met in Leipzig, Germany. While working as teachers, the duo began musically reanalyzing the folk forms of their homeland in the decaying buildings of East Germany. In this environment, they developed what may be best described as “Northern Hoosier Style” Bluegrass. The music is stuck somewhere between the electric blues of Chicago and the bluegrass of Kentucky, and has acquired the filth and abandonment of post-communist, ex-patriot life. Beginning in 2013, Kevin Schmidt (Gera, Germany) joined the group playing Dobro, expanding the group’s sound and connecting it more closely to the the East German identity. The group also collaborated on Morris’ third solo album, the 2012 release Mathew Wallace’s Journal, and is currently based in Leipzig, Germany.

• Folk
• World Music