Matt Brouwer (born February 28, 1976) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. While in college, he and fellow students founded the band Monday Night Worship (MNW). Because of the spiritual content of his lyrics he was 'discovered' by a Nashville record company in 2000, and in 2001 recorded his solo debut CD '' Imagerical''. The album was released on May 29, 2001, on

Reunion Records Reunion Records is a contemporary Christian record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, that operates under the Provident Label Group. It was founded in 1982 by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton. History The label was formed by Amy Grant's manager ...

. He then formed his own label called Black Shoe Records and released albums titled '' Unlearning'' in 2005, '' Where's Our Revolution'' (Universal) in 2009, and '' Till The Sunrise'' in 2012. Brouwer's music is known for its Contemporary Christian message as he shares his life's story of tragedy (the death of his father) and hope (his spiritual pilgrimage) with his listeners.

Early years

Matthew Paul Brouwer was born in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Scottish Gaelic: ''Trùru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River (Nova Scotia), Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth ...

, Canada. His dad ran a dairy farm and his mother worked as a teacher. When Brouwer was three years old his father was killed in a car accident. Brouwer is one of 7 siblings. While attending college, Brouwer co-founded a group known as Monday Night Worship (MNW). "It started with a conversation a group of us (students) had about our hunger to not only know about God, but to begin a journey of actually knowing Him," said Brouwer. MNW released two independent CDs featuring songs written and sung by Brouwer, many of which were also featured on his solo debut CD, '' Imagerical''. Brouwer and other members of the college group eventually parted ways or were signed to

Provident Label Group Provident Entertainment is a division of Sony Music headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and focused primarily on Christian music. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity service. Provident Label Group ...

as separate acts.

Musical career

Matt Brouwer's first single, "Water", was a hit on CCM radio's CHR chart, reaching No. 2 on R&R in 2001. The follow-up singles, "A New Song", and "Sanity", were top 20 and top 10 hits respectively as well. Brouwer hit the airwaves again with a cover of

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

's "I Shall Believe", which graced ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s Christian chart in 2005. The hit "Sometimes" from ''Where's Our Revolution'' did even better, charting in the top 20 on ''Billboard'' in 2010. An acoustic cover version of the

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

song, "Better Days", also charted for Brouwer on the ''Billboard'' chart in 2011. Brouwer's CD ''Imagerical'' was nominated for Best Gospel Album at the 2002 Canadian

JUNO Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s. He won a JUNO Award in 2010 for the album '' Where's Our Revolution''; it was named best Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the year. He has been nominated for 15

GMA Canada The Gospel Music Association of Canada or GMA Canada (formerly known as the CGMA) is a not for profit association, founded in 1974, whose purpose is to promote Christian music in Canada. History GMA Canada is created in 1974 in Ontario with ...

Covenant Awards, winning three. His songs have been featured in the Canadian produced hit teen television drama '' Degrassi''.

Personal life

Matt Brouwer married Hannah Dawn Ficker on August 29, 2010, in Houston, Texas. The couple met during a trip Brouwer took to Guatemala, where Hannah's family serves in medical missions. The couple has 3 children.

Discography

Albums

* '' Imagerical'' (Reunion Records, 2001, review
OCLC: 47203906.
* '' Unlearning'' (Black Shoe Records, 2005, review
OCLC: 137341514.
* ''The B-Sides Recording, Vol. 1'' (Black Shoe Records, 2006) * '' Where's Our Revolution'' (Black Shoe Records, 2009, review
OCLC: 316822224.
* '' A Merry Little Christmas (Matt Brouwer)'' (Black Shoe Records, 2010, revie
OCLC: 881658967.
* '' Till The Sunrise'' (Black Shoe Records, 2012, review
OCLC: 828529155.
* ''

Writing to Remember ''Writing to Remember'' is the first compilation album by Canadian Singer/Songwriter Matt Brouwer. The album was released on November 25, 2014 and features a collection of the 14 best loved songs from Brouwer's previous 4 studio albums. All the s ...

'' (Black Shoe Records, 2014, review) * ''Best Days Ahead'' (Matt Brouwer Productions, 2024)

Notable appearances

* Vocals on Jill Paquette's debut album ''Jill Paquette'' (Reunion, 2003) * "Better Days" appeared on the TV show ''Jericho'', Episode 1 (Pilot)

Songs on compilations

* ''Rock on Worship'', "Water" (Madacy, 2002) * '' Sea to Sea: I See The Cross'', "Home" (CMC, 2005) * ''Sea to Sea: The Voice of Creation'', "Your Name" (CMC, 2007) * '' GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection'', "Water" (CMC, 2008) * '' Sea to Sea: Christmas'', "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (Lakeside, 2009)

Awards and recognition

;

Covenant Awards * 2009 Folk/Roots Song of the Year: ''The Other Side'' (with

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "Honorific ...

and

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

) * 2009 GMA Canada/Blessings Christian Marketplace Fan's Choice Award * 2012 Inspirational Song of the Year: "Ocean" ; East Coast Music Awards * 2010 nominee, Gospel Recording of the Year: '' Where's Our Revolution'' * 2013 nominee, Gospel Recording of the Year: '' Till The Sunrise''East Coast Music Awards Official site
. Retrieved February 19, 2013 ;

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

* 2002 nominee, Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year: '' Imagerical'' *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year: '' Where's Our Revolution'' ;Shai Awards (formerly the Vibe Awards) * 2002 Male Vocalist of the Year * 2002 Worship Album of the Year: '' Imagerical''

References

External links

Matt Brouwer official website
*

Bio at ''Billboard'' magazine Bio or BIO may refer to: Computing * bio(4), a pseudo-device driver in RAID controller management interface in OpenBSD and NetBSD * Block I/O, a concept in computer data storage Politics * Julius Maada Bio (born 1964), Sierra Leonean politician, ...

* ''Billboard'' 2010 chart {{DEFAULTSORT:Brouwer, Matt 1976 births Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian people of German descent Canadian performers of Christian music Juno Award for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year winners Living people Singers from Nova Scotia People from Truro, Nova Scotia 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters