Striking Matches is an American duo consisting of guitarists/songwriters Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis.
History
Meeting in a guitar seminar class at Nashville'sBelmont University in 2007, Zimmermann and Davis combined their talents and began honing their songwriting and performance skills. Shortly thereafter, they quit school to pursue their music career full-time. The duo made their performing debut at Nashville's Bluebird Café. They self-released a self-titled EP in October 2012.
2012: ''Nashville'' (TV Show)
On a trip to Nashville, the music supervisor for the television series Nashville, Frankie Pine, heard Justin Davis and Sarah Zimmermann who performed for her at the office of Universal Publishing, and decided to use their songs on the show. "When the Right One Comes Along" became their first song to be featured in the show, and a total of nine of their songs have been featured in the show's four seasons:
"I Ain't Leaving Without Your Love". Included in '
"Like New". Included in '
"If It's Love". Included in '
"Good Love".
"The Rubble". Included in '
2015: ''Nothing but the Silence''
The duo became signed to the newly revived I.R.S. Records label, their debut albumNothing but the Silence, produced by T Bone Burnett, was released on March 22, 2015. The album debuted at No. 25 on the Top Country Albums chart, with 1,800 copies sold for its debut week. It also reached No. 1 on UK Country iTunes.
2018: ''A Modern Romance''
Striking Matches released their second full-length album, A Modern Romance, in July 2018 with Capitol Records.
2019: EP Series
Striking Matches plans to release a series three EPs in 2019 and 2020, entitled Morning, Noon, and Night. Striking Matches released a new EP, Morning, in May 2019, which was their first release after leaving Capitol Records. The group released a music video for the song "Don't Hold Back" in April 2019, prior to the release of the EP. The video was directed by Casey Pierce. The duo release the second single off their upcoming EP Noon, "Say What You Wanna," in September 2019. Noon will be released on November 15, 2019.
Musical style
The duo's music has been described as being found at "that sweet spot at the intersection of country, rock and blues". Regarded as a "countrified Civil Wars/Black Keys mix", Striking Matches employ tight vocal harmonies in their guitar-driven music.
