The Nashville-based duo Striking Matches — comprised of guitarists, vocalists and songwriters Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis — first came together in 2007 after being paired in a guitar class at Belmont University. Blending fiery guitar interplay with soulful harmonies, the pair quickly forged a distinctive sound that sits at the crossroads of country, rock and blues. Their songwriting prowess caught the attention of music supervisors for the hit TV drama Nashville, where nine of their songs were featured across multiple seasons. This exposure introduced their music to a global audience and helped cement Striking Matches as one of Nashville’s most exciting new acts.
In 2015, the duo released their debut album ‘Nothing But the Silence,' produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett. The record captured the electric energy of their live performances, combining Zimmermann’s slide guitar with Davis’s expressive leads and their signature close-knit harmonies. The album earned critical acclaim for its authenticity and dynamic musicianship, drawing comparisons to artists like The Civil Wars and The Black Keys. As they approach the 10th anniversary of ‘Nothing But the Silence,' Striking Matches are set to return to the UK — a country that has embraced them since their early days — for a series of celebratory shows revisiting the album that first set their world alight. We caught up with Sarah and Justin to talk all about that and a lot more besides!
Lovely to talk to you both – what fantastic news about next year in terms of the UK shows and 10th anniversary of ‘Nothing But the Silence.'
Justin: Lovely to talk to you too. We were sitting on that news for a little while and fans were asking when there would be some news and we were like, ‘Well, we know something you don't know! Just hang in there' (laughing)
Congratulations on the 10th anniversary – I don't know where those ten years have gone!
Sarah: It's so crazy!
Justin: It's been amazing but every time you hit a milestone like that you're like ‘I don't know where that time has gone,' right?
What are your thoughts and feelings about ‘Nothing But the Silence' 10 years on?
Sarah: You know, I kinda went back and listened to it when we announced the show dates. We're planning a few fun little things around some of those songs and it was interesting to go back and listen to see how much we've grown since, especially as vocalists, but as guitar players too. For me, especially, that record was a turning point for me and my guitar playing. T Bone Burnett, who produced it, was the person who told me that I really need to be playing more slide guitar and after that record that really became like another voice for me.
You mentioned T Bone – what influence did he have on the shape of the album and your career after as well?
Justin: He has a mark that he puts on all of his records, they all have a similar aesthetic. He brings in a team of musicians and people that develop that sonic space you hear on his records. You can hear T Bone's influence on any album that he makes. It was a fun, interesting thing for us to experience which we are very proud of. His knowledge of music is amazing and what he keeps up in his head is inspiring – everybody definitely sits up straighter in their chairs when he is in the room! (laughing) We took things from that process that we use, today. Like allowing a song to evolve in the way that it needs to instead of micro-managing it to fit into the vision that you might have of it in your head.
Sarah: There was so much emphasis on not over-thinking things when we made ‘Nothing But the Silence.' It was a case of ‘just sit down and sing and play.' This past year, with us making our new music, we have definitely gone in with that mantra in mind. Just do what you do, be yourself and T Bone was instrumental in teaching us that back ten years ago.
Justin: That idea that if you make something you love someone else out there will love it too and they will be your people. Trying to anticipate what people might like instead of just doing what you love will drive you crazy in the end although it's amazing how easy it is to forget that sometimes! Make yourself happy and proud of what you are doing, first and foremost.
Is there anything on the album that you's go back and change because I know musicians can be their own hardest critics.
Sarah: That's an interesting question. On some of the songs that we still play we've kind of retro-fitted some slide guitar into them now. I wish there was more of that given that the slide guitar is kind of my instrumental voice now.
Justin: I'd say no. I love so much about where we are now, the music we make and the friends we have and if we changed any aspect of ‘Nothing But the Silence' it might have altered the future path that we went on. That record led us to where we are today. Yeah, I could probably sing better now or add in this and that but that was the record that led us to where we are now.
Will you perform the songs in their original compositions at the anniversary shows then?
Justin: We can't help ourselves live. (laughing) They will have all the slide guitars! We will perform the live versions of those songs which is why I think it would be fun to record the shows and make a live record to capture what they sound like now.
Sarah: The UK has always supported us in what we do live and we've always had a freedom to play what we like in what way we choose in our live shows over there. We'll definitely be playing those songs in their new live forms and I can't wait to play them again.
Justin: ‘Make a Liar Out of Me' is always such a blast to play live. That song has evolved into this live monster. We've recorded a live version of that song to capture it in its live form, really just for the fans, it's not made for radio in any way because its not a short arrangement at all! (laughing)
You guys and ‘Nothing But the Silence' are also synonymous with the Nashville TV show that aired around that time ten years ago as well. Tell us what impact that had on your career.
Sarah: That show really shaped our career in every way. It was the catalyst for us to be able to play at the Grand Ole Opry, it allowed us to come to the UK and enabled us to go all over the world and we made great friends with people like Sam Palladio.
Justin: We were just with Sam last night, in fact!
Sarah: The way that people still tell us what some of those songs mean to them is really special. We have people reaching out to us from all over the world because of that show.
Cast members are still touring the songs ten years later. Why do you think the show has such an enduring pull with people?
Sarah: That's a good question. There's rarely been a show that used music in such an evocative way and I think people really responded to that.
Justin: It's something of a fools errand to try and guess what might hit or resonate with fans, you just don't know but when it does you're always very grateful and try to follow the smoke and provide more in that outlet. Sometimes the song that you didn't feel was going to be impactful winds up being the one that takes off…….
….and which song would that be for you Justin?
Justin: The obvious one would be ‘When the Right One Comes Along.' It was just a quiet little ballad that I always loved the melody for but I would never have picked that one to be the break out song. To see the way that it effects people always amazes me.
After all these years of writing, recording and touring together how do the two of you define success now compared to what you might have thought ten years ago?
Sarah: Great question!
Justin: We've had so many loyal fans that have stuck with us for so long alongside people who are just discovering us for the first time and it's always such an interesting mix. Some people know our whole story and some people are brand new. The blessing part of it is that we now feel at liberty to just make music that we love because we have a great fan base – we haven't been exposed to the entire world so there isn't an expectation of who we are or what we should produce, right? There's a freedom there for us to make music that we love.
Sarah: At the end of the day, if we are proud of the music we make, then that's success for us. We're writing and recording a ton of new music and our mission has always been to try and encapsulate the sound that we make together and try to get it down on record so it feels true and honest. For a time there was a little bit of a mystery to us as to how to do that and so we just kept trying to crack that until we got it!
One of the things I've always admired about you two is that your music spans Country, Americana, Pop and Rock. When you write a song do you just let the muse run free rather than think about where and what it should be?
Justin: Yeah, it's kinda like that. We've written so many songs but every single one seems to come about in a different way! I'm going to butcher the Leonard Cohen quote but he was, like, ‘If I knew how to get there, I'd go there all the time,' or words to that effect! It's still funny how much of a mystery writing still seems to be – the ones that seem to be the brightest vision upfront almost never work, you're aiming at this thing and trying to get there and then you're almost going against the thing that it needs to be by trying to force it into this space. Patience and flexibility is the key to be able to allow a song to come into the world in the way that it was meant to be.
Sarah: We've been a lot of places in these last ten years and we've explored a lot of different landscapes but now we are dialled in to what makes Striking Matches Striking Matches. So we can write anything but it all sounds like it is coming from the same place. The pop stuff was really fun but I feel like we've gotten back, now, to the place where we've always been all this time, we just added in a lot of stuff around it sometimes! (laughing)
Justin: We were a record label's worst nightmare! (laughing) We've been playing some of the new songs live to people in secret and we feel like there is a through line with it back all the way to ‘Nothing But the Silence.' We're condensing the new songs back down to just two vocals and two guitars because that is who we are live.
When you look at what a lot of the kids coming out of TikTok are playing these days it's all very earthy, organic Americana-tinged stuff. It's what you were doing back a decade ago!
Sarah: Sometimes it feels like we might have been a little too early with our music! (laughing)
Justin: It's a cool thing because if someone discovers ‘Nothing But the Silence' now it might not be much of a stretch to see it fitting in with what is popular on TikTok right now, it has kinda occurred to me as well. It sounds sonically contemporary to what people seem to be listening to right now.
Thank you for your time today. Let's finish on new music. We've had ‘Insincerely' and ‘Six String Baby' this year – are they going to be part of a bigger project coming in 2026?
Justin: They are leading into a bigger project. Whether they are on the album or not is still a little up in the air. They are definitely part of the new arsenal. For ‘Six String Baby' the percussion was literally me pounding on the guitar and figuring out how to capture that thump live and then translating into how to capture that in the studio so that it feels the same.
Sarah: I think both those songs are on the album! They were the first toe-dip back into us releasing music in this new chapter of who we are. There's certainly enough songs for an album and I think a lot of people have expressed that, because we did ‘Nothing But the Silence' as an album and then released a series of EPs, they would like a full record from us next time. I imagine that's what we will ultimately end up doing. We're trying to be a little creative around how we introduce them into the space and how people hear them before they are out.
Justin: These songs that we have coming out would sound incredible on a vinyl! (laughing) We would love that.
Grab your tickets to see Striking Matches on their ‘Nothing But the Silence' anniversary tour right here.
