MusicRowPics: Striking Matches

New duo Striking Matches, formed by Sarah Zimmerman and Justin Davis, visited the MusicRow offices yesterday (Sept. 12) to perform their new single, “Trouble Is As Trouble Does,” which was sent out to radio on Monday (Sept. 9). The duo’s self-titled EP, produced by Luke Wooten, was released in 2012, but they are perhaps best-known for penning “The Right One Comes Along” with Georgia Middleman, which was recorded by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio for an episode of the television series Nashville.
Zimmerman and Davis met both studying guitar at Nashville’s Belmont University. As freshman, they were randomly paired for an improvisational instrumental performance; they kept honing their sound as a duo long after the course was over.
After performing their new single, Zimmerman brought out her mandolin for the moody kiss-off song “Miss Me More.” They also spoke of writing with fellow songwriters including Lori McKenna and Rivers Rutherford. “It forces you to get into your writing every day,” says Zimmerman. “You start to get out of your own boxes and write things you don’t normally write.”
They finished with an emotional, intimate rendition of “The Right One Comes Along.” Since the success of that song, Striking Matches made their Grand Ole Opry debut in December 2012 at the Ryman Auditorium; since then they have played the Opry stage 16 times. “We’ve told our management that if we are physically able to play the Opry, to always say yes,” said Davis. Striking Matches performed at the fan-voted O Music awards earlier this year. Hunter Hayes hand-picked the duo to open his MTV Artist To Watch concert in New York City, and they became one of CMT’s “Listen Up” artists earlier this year.
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