A Hardin County 10-year-old has talent, but it took a twist of fate for him to find it. Matthew Pinkham says he is the next country music sensation.
“In school I’m just another kid but on the weekends it switches,” says Matthew. “It's kind of like Hannah Montana.”
But it was not always Matthew’s dream to be a country music star. In fact, all he wanted to do was play sports like other boys his age, but his parents said he could not.
“My husband and I started noticing changes,” explains Matthew’s mom, Becky. “He just wasn't walking the same. He would just fall; we would pick him up but at that point I realized it wasn't growing pains."
Matthew had a bone disease in his legs. The top of his femoral bones were degenerating and painfully wearing against his hip sockets. At age four, he was told he had to be in a wheelchair or walker.
“They told me it was indefinite,” said Becky. “He needed to be off his feet indefinitely, looking at a few years. He would watch kids out the window play and that broke my heart because he wanted to be out there.”
Confined to the house, Matthew ended up spending a lot of time watching Country Music Television. One day, Matthew's mom caught him playing air guitar and imitating artists like Dirks Bentley.
“It just hit me,” said Becky. “I asked, would you want to play guitar? He's like, ‘YEAH!’”
Before long, he was on stage with Dirks Bentley and Keith Urban too. A doctor cleared him to use his legs gently so he focused his energy on learning guitar. His music teacher says he has a special talent.
"I could definitely feel his sense of rhythm,” says Cuni Besac, who works with Matthew at the Louisville School of Rock. “His ear was amazing, meaning he could pick up any melody I played."
As Matthew’s skill improved, so did his disease. His bones healed themselves without surgery. He is still small for his age and probably will always be but he has a big voice to make up for it
Matthew performs all over the region. He is headlined in more than 60 shows. Check out his fan page on Facebook here.
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