Matt Belliveau is a 24 year old CT based guitarist who has been playing the guitar since childhood. He has played in many groups over the years and is well versed in an array of genres.

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He began taking piano lessons in a local music shop at the age of 4 which laid the groundwork for his understanding of music fundamentals. During this time, Matt also started to play a guitar lying around the house which started him on a whole new avenue of interest.

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Learning the guitar became his main focus moving forward. It was an instrument that perfectly coincided with Matt's early taste in music which consisted of mainly rock,blues and metal artists of decades gone by. At 11 years old he became the youngest guitarist to ever win the Steve Vai Scholarship to the National Guitar Workshop which was held in New Milford, CT.

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Through his middle and high school years Matt started to dive deeper into different genres of music. This search was at its core connected to a deep passion for not only expanding the scope  of his guitar playing, but also a genuine fascination for the history and lineage of how music itself had come to be what it was.

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Matt was in various rock groups around this time and was trying to find any other individuals who wanted to explore the possibilities of music together. He started to become fascinated with the art of musical improvisation around this time. When Matt realized the power of improvisation as a vehicle to reach new territories of music it was undoubtedly something he needed to pursue. He attended Central Connecticut State University where he completed the Jazz Studies program in 2016.

 

Since then Matt has performed with his once teacher Lynn Tracey in various settings including a new group called Gypsy Three which centers around gypsy jazz and brazilian music. Also, he has performed with percussionist/drummer Jocelyn Pleasant's group called The Lost Tribe which focuses on modern interpretations of traditional West African music. Other groups include a rock band named Elison Jackson, a spoken word/music improv group called Funk Physics and an acoustic guitar/singing duo with vocalist Sue Gallagher which touches upon classic rock, jazz, blues, funk and beyond. More recently he has also begun playing guitar in the pits for musicals throughout Connecticut including First Date, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Sister Act and The Color Purple.

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