matt hoggatt

Singer-songwriter keeps his shows simple, good

There must be something in the water in Jackson County. The musical contributions that have come out of that sleepy little land are numerous — Jimmy Buffett hails from here, 3 Doors Down calls the area home, and so does Gautier-based singer/songwriter Matt Hoggatt.

He’s performed across South Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina, but prefers to perform in a more casual atmosphere rather than the big lights and the big stage.

Hoggatt’s music is simple and its pleasant. That’s it. He doesn’t use any distortion pedals, he’s not a guitar virtuoso and he doesn’t change guitars after every song. It’s just him and his microphone and his songs. He’s one of a small cadre of Jackson County-based singer/songwriters who have entertained local music lovers for years. But Hoggatt’s talent lies in his solid Americana songs and stellar songwriting ability. To my ears, his songs follow the rule of “less is more.” There’s usually no need for flashy productions when you’re singing about the everyday joys and pains of life.



“People down here grow up from hard work and family values and good spirituality,” Hoggatt said in a recent interview. “When they sing, they’re singing from the heart. When that gets on paper, it ends up going a bit farther than Grandma’s kitchen. Singing about roots and family is very important. I guess, just truthfulness. You get that a lot, there’s a lot of true people down here.”

Hoggatt is a detective with the Gautier Police Department by day, and he says his music is his way to relieve the stress of his line of work, arguably one of the more stressful jobs you can have. He’s always been a musician, going back to his marching band days in junior high. A self-proclaimed “band geek,” he had a seven-year run with the Army band and picked up his first guitar in 2002. Some time later, he realized that if he could play a Willie Nelson song, or a Jimmy Buffett song, then why couldn’t he play a Matt Hoggatt song?

He discovered The Julep Room’s open mic night after “piddling around” with some original compositions. He started performing at Coffee Fusion in Ocean Springs, then Huck’s Cove in Gautier. Pretty soon, he had his first album, 2008’s “Live From The Homestead.”

“I started writing what I would like to hear,” Hoggatt said. “Somewhere along the way, someone would mesh with that. I just write what I know about and songs from my experiences and my opinion of what a song should be. My idea of happiness is that I can write a song that can get stuck in someone’s head while they’re walking around Wal-Mart somewhere. They just think of that song, and that’s a really strong hold to have on someone. That’s the song I’d like to write.”

Hoggatt currently has several upcoming performances in the area. He’s performing at the Ocean Springs Coffee Fusion on Aug. 22, and then right up the road at The Julep Room for a special 9-11 show on Sept. 11. He’s at the Little River Marina in Escatawpa on Sept. 12. Be sure to check out www.sunherald.com/marquee for some of Hoggatt’s original songs.

The money may be light for singer/songwriters, but Hoggatt doesn’t mind that much.

“There used to be a lot of places you could go, oyster houses or little beachfront dives,” Hoggatt said. “You could go in there and hear someone on a bar stool just jamming away. Now you’re hard-pressed to hear that . . . but we’re going to try to change that; bring the roots back to people one way or the other around here.”

- The Sun Herald