MATT EPP, who appeared at the Vancouver Folk Festival (July 16 – 18), is someone to keep your eye on. He’s a very talented musician, whose lyrics make you pay attention.

Epp began his Saturday morning performance with a song called ‘Follow Me,’ inspired by Jesus Christ.  

Epp’s encouraging words, compassionately sung in a buoyant tune, send a welcome message: “It’s hard I know / But go on with the show / You’ve lived enough to know by now / That I won’t ever let you go / Don’t lose your way / Listen to what I have to say.”  

Later in the afternoon, Epp entertained his listeners with ‘They Won’t Find the Bodies,’ a catchy, slightly disturbing song reminiscent of biblical psalms of lament.  The graphic images imitate the violence and raw emotions of those psalms:

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“Even if they mess with your head / They’ll be dead / They won’t find the bodies / Even if they tell you a lie / I might cut their tongues out / And gouge out their eyes.”

In response to the Folk Fest crowd’s widening eyes during this song, Epp paused and asked them innocently, “What?”

Epp’s latest album, Safe or Free, is indicative of the way he lives his life. Intentionally homeless – though Winnipeg was at one time considered home – Epp has criss-crossed North America, been to Mexico, and recently returned from a tour of Europe.  

His faith informs all his lyrics. One last clear example: “Search the sky and you’ve seen me through / Listen when I sing, ‘cause I sing for you.”

– Katherine Ritchie

August 2010