Mathis Haug playing live November 12, 5 p.m-7 p.m.
by Bill Collmer Sun Senior Staff Writer,
HAMMONDSPORT– Birdseye Hollow Farm and Distillery located at 8398 County Route 96 in Hammondsport is hosting Blues Session No.1, on Thursday November 12, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Part one of a series of special events featuring National Recording artist Mathis Haug, Nicknamed the Music Man, Haug is a German-born singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer whose music moves between blues, folk, country, and rock.
Haug was born in the Black Forest in 1976 and raised in the south of France, he built his career from Barcelona to Paris to Memphis, scoring a Spanish Top 40 hit and a four-star Rolling Stone review for his album Wild Country, and sharing stages with artists like Taj Mahal, Chris Whitley, and Poppa Chubby. Haug pairs formidable guitar work with an unmistakable, gravelly voice, shaped by decades spent absorbing American roots traditions without ever having to reproduce them. He’s also worked closely as a songwriter and producer with artists from far beyond the United States roots scene, including Tuscarora singer Pura Fé, Moroccan artist Oum, and gypsy jazz violinist Aurore Voilqué. After years touring Europe and the United States, he settled in upstate New York’s Finger Lakes Region in 2025, bringing that same restless, borderless approach to a new home base. His sets carry blues, country, and rock in equal measure — roots music with real history behind it, and a voice entirely his own.
Live Music has become a staple of Birdseye Hollow; they have Live Music year-round on Saturdays and Sundays and have Live Music every Friday night during the busy summer months. They have both an outdoor and indoor stage for Musicians to perform. They have quietly become a hot spot for Live Music in Steuben County.
Haug hosts a weekly Jam Session on Sunday evenings in Rochester, NY at the Main Place tavern with local musician Son Henry called Sunday Blues Jam.
At the age of 15, Haug bought his first guitar, an electric Gibson Les Paul copy, unearthed in Germany.
“Its neck was twisted, out of tune. I tried to learn from there, and I switched to folk music,” Mathis Haug said.
At the age of 18, Haug came of age working in his native country. Then he returned to France, to Nimes. He composed and started touring in Cafes. The audiences were seduced by this charming young man with a devastating voice. “He was like no other, with it he did what he wanted” recalls Bernadette Le Janoux, Long-time friend.
From 2002 to 2004, during a stay in Barcelona, he attracted the attention of the public and the local media. The single 4.4.2 charted in the national charts, becoming the official anthem of the international music documentary festival Beefeater In-Edit. At the same time, he received the Talent Jazz Award from the Jazz a Vienne festival and appeared on various compilations such as the Blues Beat Sessions (Warner Jazz).
Noticed by blues label Dixie Frog, Haug recorded his first solo album Playing my dues in 2011. He worked with harmonica player Jean-Jacques Milteau, who produced the superb Distance in 2013, before releasing Wild country, a country-world music album already on the roads of the American continent. The Concerts followed one another in France and abroad. Everyone praises a classy songwriter who likes to mix folk, rock, blues and country. And always “that incredible voice. As soon as you hear it, it’s Mathis! There’s no other like him,” enthuses the great violinist Aurore Voilqué. “But that’s not it he’s also a cool guy, with a good spirit, beautiful to look at.”
One of his most memorable moments as a musician happened by accident.
“I was opening solo for the Compay Segundo Orchestra, an eight-piece Cuban son band from Santiago de Cuba, led by Compay’s sons since his passing a few months earlier. During soundcheck, I was noodling around and started playing the chords of “Chan Chan” when I heard the whole band come in behind me. It was an incredibly intense moment. I was so surprised to be playing with an authentic Cuban band, and it felt like being Ry Cooder at Carnegie Hall with the Buena Vista Social Club. Later that night, I asked the bandleader what made them join in. He simply said, “You’ve got soul, and we like that. But can you play slide guitar too?” I ended up on stage every night of the tour playing Ry Cooder’s slide parts. It felt like heaven,” Haug said
Today, Haug combines his family life (he has three children, Elsie, Arlo and Mila), with his work as a musician and as an artistic consultant, sought after throughout the world. There were the Amerindian Pura Fé, the Moorish Oum. Or, once again, the violinist Aurore Voilqué, whom he met again at the last Nîmes jazz festival. “Mathis is extremely relevant. He has the ideas of an artistic director and knows how to manage things intelligence.” In April 2022, Mathis Haug released album, a tribute to Doc Watson album, a wonderful servant of traditional American music. Melting pot, American wheels, sharing of sounds. This project like is the summary of the path that Mathis Haug is tirelessly tracing. From the Black Forest to the great American, without forgetting the Gorges du Gardon. Always in search of sound.
Haug has taken brief hiatuses from music over the years but he keeps coming back.
“It’s the only thing I’m good at, and it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m a curious person, so I’m constantly learning new techniques, trying to break my writing habits, exploring new worlds, and picking up new instruments. That keeps me alive. Sometimes I need a break from playing, so I’ll do something else for a while. But I always come back to it,” Haug added.
While session number two has yet to be scheduled, you’ll have other opportunities to see Haug at Birdseye Hollow in the near future.
“We’re very excited to host this special Musical series featuring Mathis Haug, to have an artist of his caliber play on our stage will be a treat for not only our customers but our staff as well,” Birdseye Hollow owner Steve Ferris said.
Since 2022, Haug has played in a duo with Benoit Nogaret where the guitarist-singer continues his exploration of blues, folk and country. The Duo will play at Birdseye Hollow on Sunday February 21, 2027, from 3 p.m-6 p.m. On Friday May 7, 2027, Haug will play at Birdseye Hollow with the Brian Francis Trio.
Save the date, Thursday November 12, from 5-7 to see the Music Man Mathis Haug live at Birdseye Hollow Farm and Distillery.
MORE >>> https://birdseyehollowfarms.com
