You never forget your “First,” and for Warner Music Nashville riser Chase Matthew, that haunting truth makes everything else pale by comparison. With his latest track available today (5/3) across all streaming platforms and digital retailers, Matthew calls out the electricity of a first love and the agonizing mark it left on his heart – like a tattoo inked with memories. Listen here.
Written by Matthew, Jacob Rice, Ben Hayslip, and David Lee Murphy, “First” is full of head-spinning, pulse-pounding emotion, as Matthew updates his signature take-me-as-I-come style with unflinching romantic vulnerability. Vivid lyrics seem to rise up from the deepest, darkest corners of his soul, as a tough-skinned country boy comes to terms with the unforgettable “firsts” that make a lost love sting so bad. Thinking back on a long-gone season that still feels like yesterday, his mind flashes back to a couple’s first ride together in a top-down Jeep, the first barroom buzz on a 21st birthday, and the first (and worst) goodbye of his life – all the things that make a “First” so hard to leave behind. Watch the lyric video.
Produced by Rice, Matthew captures the ache with a dynamic vocal delivery, going from calm-and-collected to can’t-hold-it-back as the memories keep rushing forward. Always hitting hard, he sings of trying to start over with a new romance – but getting lost in his past yet again, as the sonic temperature reaches its romantic boiling point. Mixing his V8-powered Country Rock with richly textured digital-harmony vocals, wistful steel guitars, and a light touch of new-wave Funk, he succumbs to the harsh realization – “It’s hard to love anybody else when I loved you first.”
The “First” new music since his February EP release, We All Grow Up, Matthew is currently nearing Top 15 at Country radio with GOLD-certified debut “Love You Again.”
Next on deck for back-to-back appearances in Texas, he’ll take the stage at the Daytime Village at the 2024 iHeartCountry Festival at the Moody Center in Austin tomorrow (5/4), before playing the “Opry NextStage Live From Texas” show in The Colony on May 15. Hosted at Lava Cantina, the Opry NextStage Class of 2024 member will perform to a packed crowd in anticipation of the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards. Continuing his headlining COME GET YOUR MEMORY EXTENDED TOUR through the spring, Matthew has also stacked support slots with Jason Aldean’s HIGHWAY DESPERADO TOUR and Luke Bryan’s MIND OF A COUNTRY BOY TOUR. Check out his website for complete tour information.
