After gaining considerable recognition as a rocker in Detroit, including a stint as lead guitarist for the Paper Street Saints, Royal Oak resident Matt Austin has made the leap to country.

Austin will be performing his new self-titled country EP along with other select originals and covers on Sept. 21 at the Magic Bag Theatre laocated at 22920 Woodward Ave. in Ferndale.

Opening the show will be the recently re-formed Deadstring Brothers, and alternative country songbird Jennifer Westwood and The Waycross Georgia Farmboys. 99.5 WYCD, Detroit’s Best Country, will be on-hand to support Matt Austin's country debut.   

After singing and playing lead guitar in rock bands for over a decade, and opening for such national acts as Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Styx, and Sponge, Austin is happy to unleash his inner cowboy. 

“It’s so good to do music that can touch your soul and raise the hairs on your arms, because that is what I grew up on, and why I fell in love with music in the first place,” explains Austin. 

Recording his entire six song EP in Nashville with a skilled seven piece country band, Austin was honored to work with Dierks Bentley’s keyboardist. Austin counts Bentley, along with Eric Church and Jason Aldean, among his biggest influences. 

Austin is especially excited to debut his new sound to live audiences at the Magic Bag.  

“After all of my rock history, I have finally grown into the artist that best fits who I am.”

With the newly reformed alt-country balladeers Deadstring Brothers (featuring Jeremy Mackinder, formerly of Whitey Morgan) and hot Americana songbird Jennifer Westwood and The Waycross Georgia Farmboys supporting Austin, this will be a night of great live music. 

Austin’s EP release party is sponsored in part by Royal Oak-based Skyward Real Estate.

If you go

• When: Sept. 21, doors open at 8 p.m., ages 18 and over are welcome to attend. 
• Where:  Magic Bag Theatre laocated at 22920 Woodward Ave. in Ferndale
• Price: Tickets are $10 and available at Ticketweb.com and at the Magic Bag box office. 
• Win a guitar: Those who purchase pre-sale tickets via Ticketweb.com will be eligible to win an acoustic guitar autographed by Matt Austin, which he will give away on-stage at the show (must be present to win). 
• Listen now: Fans can pre-order Matt Austin’s new self-titled EP at www.mattaustinmusic.com, and can download Matt's new single "Big Black 4WD" for FREE by subscribing to his web site before Sept. 21. 
• Be in a video: Austin will also be filming footage for his upcoming music video for "Big Black 4WD" at this show, and fans in attendance may have a chance to be in the video.