A National Film Board of Canada Production

Prince Edward Islander Chad Matthews is a singer-songwriter who once made a decent living fishing out of the tiny community of Northport. The long days on the water were often blissful, but sometimes gusts can blow a gale, and one day misery caught up to Chad and clung to him like a shadow.

These days Chad is a divorced father of four, a part-time fisherman and a much-loved Stompin’ Tom Connors tribute artist. In a rural town where making a living means only earning minimum wage, Susan Rodgers’ Then Sings My Soul follows Chad as he reaches for a guitar to help ease the pain.

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Two liner:

Prince Edward Island singer and part-time fisherman Chad Matthews is a hardworking father of four and a Stompin’ Tom Connors tribute artist. In a rural town where making a living means only earning minimum wage, Then Sings My Soul follows Chad as he reaches for a guitar to help ease the pain.

One liner:

In a rural town where making a living means only earning minimum wage, Then Sings My Soul follows Stompin’ Tom Connors tribute artist Chad Matthews as he reaches for a guitar to help ease the pain.

I first met Chad Matthews on the set of my scripted feature film, Still The Water. I had cast him to play a fisherman but didn’t find out until he arrived on set that he had actually fished for more than 30 years. Chad came to me via his role as Stompin’ Tom Connors in a continuously sold-out dinner theatre show in Skinners Pond, Prince Edward Island. A friend said he was an actor. I had my doubts because as far as I knew, remote, rural western P.E.I. wasn’t known as a breeding ground for thespians. It was a land of farmers and fishers.

Over casual conversation, I quickly learned that Chad was not your typical West Prince fisherman. Like me, he sometimes feels like a square peg in a round hole. Life has not always been easy for him, and in his forties, he still harbors dreams of a bigger life.

I am a writer and filmmaker, and I also live in a remote area away from the creative hub of my province. From the very beginning, Chad and I understood each other’s frustrations and our desire for success in our chosen creative fields.

When I was a child, Stompin’ Tom’s tunes were in regular rotation on the local radio station, and I still recall my mother calling us kids into the kitchen to hear “Bud the Spud” when it came on the radio. We’d come running. I had heard a lot about the Stompin’ Tom Dinner Theatre in Skinners Pond. I decided to drive up west to see what the fuss and the sold-out shows were all about.

Chad is a local celebrity. At the show, it was quickly obvious why. It seemed natural for him to adopt Tom’s songs and character for a sometimes-intimidating audience of folks from all around the world. As Tom, he was captivating. I couldn’t help but see that he had raw talent and an electric persona on stage.

Chad has a gift that many in the world will never experience. He is one of thousands of local community entertainers who only ever glimpse and experience fame on a peripheral level, and who may only ever dream of the kind of success someone like Stompin’ Tom experienced. Yet in his local circle he heals many with his music, and I, for one, am glad.

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