It was country/Americana icon Radney Foster who nudged Matthew Szlachetka back into the singer/songwriter game. “Lately, I’d been focused on producing and collaborating on other artists’ work, with no real plans to record anything of my own,” says the Nashville-based jack of all trades. “Radney encouraged me to get back into the studio to co-produce a song I wrote with my friend Paul Stephens.”
A model of resourcefulness and resiliency, Szlachetka is an accomplished guitarist who’s worked with Foster, David Bianco (Tom Petty), Scott Underwood (Train), Matt Malley (Counting Crows) and Casey Wasner (Keb’ Mo’). More recently, he’s produced projects for Grammy winner Jeff Silbar (Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings”), Preston Gunderson (from NBC’s The Voice), the Black Opry’s Nikki Morgan and his singer/actor wife, Sarah Aili.
“Un-American Dream” was supposed to be on Szlachetka’s 2022 album, Young Heart, Old Soul. “I didn’t feel ready to release it then,” he says. “The song carries a deeply personal message—one that’s stayed with me all these years. It’s inspired by Paul’s father, Sgt. Arbie Lincoln Stephens, a WWII veteran who served in Patton’s Third Army in the 10th Armored Division. His courage, humility and moral compass are at the heart of this song. Paul recalls his father often saying, ‘There’s one truth: Love thy neighbor and be sorry when you are wrong.’ It’s lingered in my spirit ever since we wrote it, and releasing it now feels less like a career move and more like a responsibility.”
We’re proud to premiere Matthew Szlachetka’s “Un-American Dream.”
—Hobart Rowland
