Guest Room Sessions: Matt Siffert, ‘A Song of Gratitude’

November's second installment of The Boot’s Guest Room Sessions finds singer-songwriter Matt Siffert and two friends performing a song with a timely title. Readers can press play above to watch a special performance of Siffert's breezy, vintage-inspired tune “A Song of Gratitude.”

For his Guest Room Sessions performance, Siffert enlisted the help of two of his favorite local musicians, bassist Steven Haan and keyboardist Will Honaker. Together, the trio delivers a laid-back, meditative performance.

“They're both sensitive and emotional players. They play with feeling, but respect the song and the quietness of my voice,” Siffert tells The Boot of Haan and Honaker. “Not to mention that they are two of the nicest guys I know.”

Siffert’s charming home in East Nashville provides the backdrop for this Guest Room Sessions video. He, Haan and Honaker filmed the clip outside on his front porch.

“I love living here so much. The community of artists here could not be more welcoming, and the level of musicianship is unparalleled,” Siffert says of East Nashville’s vibrant songwriting and performing community. “I've grown so much since moving and could not be more grateful to the people I've met and come to know.”

“A Song of Gratitude” appears on Siffert’s self-produced EP Gallatin, released back in July. The EP is also inspired by East Nashville, and it's named for the main thoroughfare that courses through that side of the city.

""A Song of Gratitude" is one of the first songs I wrote for my latest EP, Gallatin. At the time, I was looking for a change in direction, toward music that was accessible and that felt good on the surface,” Siffert says. “I went back to the music of the '60s and '70s and used the sound of that era as the musical lens through which I could tell stories."