Interview with Matt Fuqua From the Afters

The Afters Interview and Live Show 

With Kyle Sherman

     Every so often I find myself intrigued by a song, regardless if I know who the artist is singing it or not. I form connections to certain lyrics and melodies for one reason or another. About five months back when I first heard the song “Every Good Thing”, which has been number one in Christian radio for the last three weeks. I nicknamed it my happy song. The melody was extremely catchy and the lyrics a reminder of all the blessings we have in our lives we often take for granted.


     A few months later after being recommended by friends I decided to watch the movie October Baby. At the end of the movie, a song started playing that I thought was superb. I went to my computer and googled, “Life is Beautiful”. Lo and behold the same band who sang my happy song was also the artist of this fantastically placed melody at the end of October Baby.

     I immediately went to amazon and ordered "The Afters" fourth album “Life is Beautiful” and they quickly became my in car addiction. I spoke with Matt Fuqua, vocalist and guitar player for "The Afters" last week. He was gracious enough to spare a few moments away from his family to speak to me about how the band met, where the heart of the new album came from and future plans on tour and in the studio.

     It’s not unusual for God to bring people together to glorify His kingdom in the most unexpected ways. Being involved in different roles of worship at a young age these Starbucks Barista’s began singing orders out while at work.  It wasn’t long before they started playing together outside of steaming milk and formed a fan base under the name of Bliss. Eventually that named changed to who we now know as The Afters.

     Since I was unfamiliar with previous albums released by The Afters I asked Matt what he felt was different about this album compared to their previous releases.

Matt: “As we have gotten older, we have finally hit a stride that we hadn’t quite arrived at yet. As a song writer, it’s an expression of self and it takes a while for a group of guys to be comfortable sharing experiences with each other. On this album we were able to write with a degree of honesty and vulnerability that we hadn’t quite reached until now.“

Me: “So do you think there are specific areas in your lives that you could pin point that brought you to that place of openness in yourselves enough with each other to allow those emotions to be shared?”

Matt: “I think to a great degree there probably are, but it’s not so much a specific experience. It’s a combination of where our walk with God is and what God is teaching us. You know we got to a point where we realized in our spiritual journey that God is with us in our sufferings, to use those things to the good of His Kingdom. It’s seeing God in all the good and all the bad and the beautiful and the ugly. People often question if God is really working in their lives when they are going through hardships, but when you get to a place where you can see Him even in those moments you can’t be misled by emotions, you have to trust His plan.”

Me: “Have you seen a change in your fan base, reflecting on the difference in content of your music and your spiritual maturity?”

Matt: “Well, yeah I think our fans have gotten older, as we have gotten older (laughs), you know something happens when you have kids. I think that comes through in our songs. I believe when you sing songs about what really matters most like God, family and community and these things that everyone can relate to, people of all ages begin to enjoy that message. I think what we are writing about now is relatable to a broader audience.”

   The Afters may not be known world-wide by name but many like me have been blessed by their music in ways they don’t even know. Winning the Dove Award in 2009 for rock/contemporary album of the year and touring constantly they are no stranger to the stage. Their music has also been featured on several popular television shows and in the recently divinely orchestrated ending of the movie October Baby. 

     Matt explained to me that “Life is Beautiful” was the fastest song they had ever written. What usually takes them six months came to perfection in only a few hours. Their manager played the song for one of the directors of the movie that was already scheduled to release and he loved the song so much they rescheduled the movie release date to incorporate it. If you watch the movie, it appears the song was written for the movie, in actuality God intervened and used the band to create the perfect ending.


     The Afters plan to kick off their Life is Beautiful tour in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio on March 27.

     I was thankful that I had another chance to take part in worship with Kyle Sherman who I had previously enjoyed on the Road Show Tour. I was also looking forward to enjoying worshiping along with Mark and his fellow band mates Josh Havens (lead vocals/musician), bass player Dan Ostebo, and behind the drums Jordan Mohilowski.

Signing autographs Kyle on the left and The Afters huddled around with my concert crew I brought with me.

Matt: “Yeah we just finished up our tour with Steven Curtis Chapman a week ago and now we are getting excited about our next tour. We normally only do one spring tour so we are looking forward to doing two. We will be changing it up a little bit and we will be travelling with our great friend Kyle Sherman who is a Texas boy like myself, so I’m a little partial to him. He is such a likable guy and we are all super excited about that.”

     Personable is a word I would use for all of these young men, including Kyle. I have been to many concerts with many different bands and each time I come home experiencing the presence of God in a different way.  I did not know what to expect from The Afters during their live show.

     I can tell you now that I am home that they are still at heart, worship leaders to the core. These guys love the people of God, and love God even more. 

     They are family men carrying the gift that God has given them around the world and letting their light shine for as many as will come to gather with them to honor Him. They involve the people in praise and incorporate known worship songs into their separate acoustic set and love to meet as many people afterwards as they can.

     For those who hunger and thirst for righteousness praise and worship is not a concert and it is not a show. It’s a broken hallelujah that comes from the heart when love is in the air that flows from breast to breast within’ the body. It’s our hands raised high to the one who makes every good thing. 

     When you breathe in and breathe out no matter what you are facing and find your way to Him in your life, it’s in moments like this that you believe what we are here for. In my eyes, The Afters want people to trust that God is with you always in this life. Life is Beautiful is a must have album for anyone and everyone.  I highly recommend picking up Kyle Sherman’s album as well. 

     It was a pleasure to meet Kyle and The Afters at the end of the event. I look forward to the fall line-up they are working on and seeing them again, as well as anxiously awaiting a new album from them now that they are on my radar in high gear. Blessings to these carriers of the good news as they travel from city to city and safely back to their families.

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Upcoming Tour Dates For The Afters