Today, Reckless Son—the moniker of New York-based musician Matt Butler—unveils new song “Been Gone So Long” and confirms his forthcoming album will be released June 2. Listen/share the song HERE and watch/share the video HERE.
Butler produced a short documentary, “Mother’s Day Miracle,” with his non-profit foundation Art That Serves. The film tells the story of Jenny, a mother of two, and her dedication to putting her life back together after a period of incarceration. The struggle depicted in the film is captured poignantly in the new single “Been Gone So Long.” Butler states the song "is about frustration and sadness. Most people I met inside jails and prisons genuinely want to change their lives, and they’re willing to do the work, but when they’re released the deck is stacked so heavily against them it can feel like the world actually wants them to fail. The strength it takes not to despair is truly heroic and I knew I had to write about that.”
The full album follows the release of his recent self-titled EP. Listen HERE.
Butler has performed everywhere from Ohio’s Chillicothe Correctional Institution, to Utah’s Gunnison Prison and the New York City Department of Corrections facilities on Riker’s Island. Having performed over 150 concerts in jails and prisons across the country, Butler shares the songs he writes along the way and the stories of the people who inspired them. More than just a show, Reckless Son acts as a calling, service, and pledge to “bring healing through the arts to those behind the walls,” Butler says.
“I've never been the kind of writer who just sits down and writes a love song,” Butler says. “I’ve always been drawn to deeper, darker, more intense subject matter.”
“Reckless Son wasn’t written for the incarcerated. It was written for those who haven’t had the privilege of meeting these people and hearing their stories for themselves,” he explains. “The show is as faithful a rendering of the truth of my experience as I can offer. The people in jail know their own story already. Reckless Son is more about getting that story heard.”
