304 South Mears
Whitehall
MI 49461
After returning from his third and final deployment in 2010 as a Staff Sergeant in the US Army, Matt Williams discovered another battle waiting for him here at home. PTSD and depression loomed very near to Matt, as he had been wounded—and two of his best friends were killed—by an IED attack during his last tour in Afghanistan. Things only seemed to intensify when Matt’s father passed just three weeks after he arrived back home in Alabama. Matt desperately sought an outlet where he could direct his emotion, and he turned back to his roots: MUSIC.
Matt’s love of music stretches back as far as he can remember. His mother bought him a drum set at 18 months and he never looked back, learning piano by ear, singing in the choir at church, even becoming one of the top marching snare drummers in the country while in high school. Matt found a solace in music that he couldn’t find elsewhere, and it became the perfect emotional outlet.
“I began writing the story of my life in the form of songs that I hope other people can relate to in many different ways. I want to tell the world about my life to show that I’m not ashamed of who I am and that no one is perfect. Music, along with God, really can save the soul, and it can influence and impact people in ways that they cannot do for themselves. Music saved my life in more ways than one and I believe that it can help others as well.”
This event is part of The Night on the Town, a Montague Whitehall Rotary Club annual fundraiser which benefits Rotary Community and Youth Projects. Tickets for the food/auction/concert are available from Rotarians for $100.
