Matriarch

Based in Denver Colorado, Tommy Shugart is an artist working primarily on the Hammond organ. At home in his studio, the concept of Shuga T was born through explorations in using reel to reel tape machines to record vintage keyboard instruments along with guitars and drums. The collection of songs in Matriach is a graduation from the “DIY bedroom studio” environment Shugart was immersed in for debut release Melodies & Changes and explores new territory on a 4-track tape recorder. It is a full-scale studio album with larger instrumentation, collaboration, and a more developed sense of writing. Matriarch features an outstanding list of collaborators including AC Cole (JJ Grey & Mofro); Parris Fleming (The Parrisan, Harry Styles horn arranger); Armando Lopez (Brothers of Brass); Danny Wytanis (Ghost-Note); Hunter Roberts (Butterfly Quintet); and Matt Lapham (Kamani) As a working organist Shuga T has toured and worked with artists such as Roosevelt Collier, Eddie Roberts, Blaque Dynamite, and Joe Marcinek. On the road with Roosevelt he has performed on 4 different continents and participated in esteemed festivals such as WOMEX (World Music Exchange) and Montreux Jazz Festival.