{"id":114698,"date":"2025-08-04T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/?p=114698"},"modified":"2025-07-30T21:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T11:29:12","slug":"from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"From classical chords to jazz, rock and blues"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHEN Matthew Armitage began playing the guitar as a child in New Zealand, it was under the guidance of a classical music teacher. But what she didn’t know was that he was spending every spare moment immersed in his father’s rock and blues records \u2014 Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and the like \u2014 teaching himself the chords by ear.<\/p>\n

“It was natural for me, but my teacher was very much on the classical wavelength, so I didn’t share anything about the blues or rock with my classical guitar teacher,” he said.<\/p>\n

After beginning his performing career at concerts his teacher organised for elderly audiences, Armitage responded to a classifieds ad and joined his first rock band, The Four Critters, in his late teens.<\/p>\n

He later pursued a degree in jazz performance and composition at university in Wellington, and has since released two albums and an EP.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Matthew Armitage. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Armitage moved to Australia in 2013 after falling in love with an Australian woman he met while she was traveling in New Zealand. The couple now lives in Tweed Heads with their two children.<\/p>\n

After introducing himself to Pete Murray on the street when the ARIA-award-winning singer was setting up a restaurant in Byron Bay, the pair became friends and Murray invited him to tour with him in 2018.<\/p>\n

Armitage has also performed at Angus Stone’s 30th birthday and at Margot Robbie’s wedding at Coorabell in 2016, alongside Matt Swan, with whom he plays in the duo The Swamps.<\/p>\n

He continues to perform at venues across the Northern Rivers, including Three Blue Ducks at The Farm. “That bluesy style really suits being out in the country,” he said.<\/p>\n

Armitage is scheduled to perform an acoustic set at Three Blue Ducks on Sunday August 3, and at The Great Northern on Friday August 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WHEN Matthew Armitage began playing the guitar as a child in New Zealand, it was under the guidance of a classical music teacher. But what she didn’t know was that he was spending every spare moment immersed in his father’s rock and blues records \u2014 Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and the like \u2014 teaching himself […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":231,"featured_media":114704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-114698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom classical chords to jazz, rock and blues - Byron Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Matthew Armitage: From classical guitar to jazz, rock & blues. Discover his journey, performances & upcoming shows.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From classical chords to jazz, rock and blues - Byron Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Matthew Armitage: From classical guitar to jazz, rock & blues. Discover his journey, performances & upcoming shows.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Byron Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-03T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/tng-30jul-4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Angela Saurine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Angela Saurine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Angela Saurine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be\"},\"headline\":\"From classical chords to jazz, rock and blues\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-03T18:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":317,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/tng-30jul-4.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/\",\"name\":\"From classical chords to jazz, rock and blues - Byron Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/tng-30jul-4.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-03T18:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Matthew Armitage: From classical guitar to jazz, rock & blues. Discover his journey, performances & upcoming shows.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/living\\\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/tng-30jul-4.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/tng-30jul-4.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Matthew Armitage with his guitar. Photo: SUPPLIED\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Byron Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Byron Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png\",\"width\":948,\"height\":103,\"caption\":\"Byron Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be\",\"name\":\"Angela Saurine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Angela Saurine\"},\"description\":\"Angela Saurine is a journalist at the Times News Group based in the village of Bangalow in the Byron Bay hinterland. She has more than 20 years' experience in the media industry.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/author\\\/angelasaurine\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From classical chords to jazz, rock and blues - Byron Coast Times","description":"Matthew Armitage: From classical guitar to jazz, rock & blues. Discover his journey, performances & upcoming shows.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From classical chords to jazz, rock and blues - Byron Coast Times","og_description":"Matthew Armitage: From classical guitar to jazz, rock & blues. Discover his journey, performances & upcoming shows.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/","og_site_name":"Byron Coast Times","article_published_time":"2025-08-03T18:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/tng-30jul-4.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Angela Saurine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Angela Saurine","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/"},"author":{"name":"Angela Saurine","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be"},"headline":"From classical chords to jazz, rock and blues","datePublished":"2025-08-03T18:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/"},"wordCount":317,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/tng-30jul-4.jpg","articleSection":["Living"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/","name":"From classical chords to jazz, rock and blues - Byron Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/tng-30jul-4.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-03T18:00:00+00:00","description":"Matthew Armitage: From classical guitar to jazz, rock & blues. Discover his journey, performances & upcoming shows.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/living\/from-classical-chords-to-jazz-rock-and-blues\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/tng-30jul-4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/tng-30jul-4.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Matthew Armitage with his guitar. Photo: SUPPLIED"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/","name":"Byron Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Byron Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/05\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/05\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png","width":948,"height":103,"caption":"Byron Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be","name":"Angela Saurine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Angela Saurine"},"description":"Angela Saurine is a journalist at the Times News Group based in the village of Bangalow in the Byron Bay hinterland. She has more than 20 years' experience in the media industry.","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/author\/angelasaurine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/231"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114698"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=114698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}