Born in Adrian, Michigan in 1978, Jones began playing piano at the age of 8 and got hooked on classic ragtime; later, he played sousaphone in his high school's band. As Jones took up guitar, he started writing his own songs and began making his way into the Southeast Michigan musical community after settling in Ypsilanti, Michigan, sharing stages and appearing on recordings by the likes of Kyle Norris and Chris Bathgate. Jones made his recording debut in 2005 with the EP Right to Arms, credited to Matt Jones & the Reconstruction (the band's name stems from Jones' passion for Civil War history). In 2009, Jones released his first full-length album, an eclectic and carefully orchestrated piece entitled The Black Path. The album was critically well-received, but Jones has said dealing with the adulation of his peers was difficult, and led to a period while he fell into alcohol abuse. In 2010, Jones was in an auto accident while intoxicated; the experience forced him to get a better handle on his attitudes about music and life. Jones' next effort, 2012's Half Poison, Half Pure, was a literate but more musically upbeat effort that added greater traditional rock elements to the tunes while still maintaining his artful approach to both lyrics and melody. In 2013, he dropped a digital single, The Darkest Things, which was followed in 2014 by Lesser Birds, a live-in-the-studio session that featured 16 songs from throughout his career. Jones has also collaborated frequently with Misty Lyn Bergeron, of the group Misty Lyn & the Big Beautiful, drumming in her band and employing her to sing in his. In October 2014, he released his third LP, the haunting, civil war-inspired The Deep Enders. ~ Mark Deming