Matthew Sweet, a singer-songwriter, suffered a stroke during a tour in mid-October. His management business has launched a GoFundMe campaign to finance his recovery.
Sweet was on tour, opening for the band Hanson, when he was struck in Toronto on October 12, just before a show the next night.
Catherine Lyons, who represents Sweet at Russell Carter Artist Management, set up the GoFundMe page on Tuesday afternoon with the stated objective of raising $250,000 for the rocker’s medical expenses. The initiative got off to a solid start. As of 6 p.m. PT Tuesday, approximately 770 people had donated nearly $50,000, and by 8 p.m., it had risen to $85,000 from 1,400 donors.
Sweet’s long-time manager, Carter, confirmed to Variety on Tuesday night that his client had returned to his home state of Nebraska. “Matthew was quickly admitted to Toronto Western Hospital” on Oct. 12, Carter said. “He was put into excellent care and taken out of immediate danger.”Matthew was moved to a rehabilitation centre back in Omaha today, where he will receive intense therapy. He is now facing a long and difficult path to recovery.All of us who know and love Matthew hope for a rapid recovery. Matthew has always been very focused and tenacious in all of his endeavours, including his music career and other artistic and intellectual hobbies. I am convinced that his unwavering dedication will serve him well as he focuses on his return to good health.”
Carter stated that Matthew’s medical bills in Canada and Omaha are high, and his primary source of income is live touring, as is common for professional artists. He is unable to perform for the foreseeable future. We’ve set up a GoFundMe campaign so that family, friends, and Matthew’s incredible network of followers can contribute to his medical bills. Please contribute if you can, and please share the GoFindMe campaign link anywhere you can.
Lyons stated in her GoFundMe appeal that “the doctors and hospital care in Toronto were instrumental in saving Matthew’s life, but health care is not free for Americans in Canada,” and that Sweet was being flown back to the United States on an ambulance transport plane with medical staff on board to a specialised rehabilitation centre, where he will receive around-the-clock care and therapy for six weeks. He will next require months of treatment and rehabilitation, which we hope will result in a complete recovery. Needless to say, the expenses of all of this care will be staggering. We estimate a total of around a quarter of a million dollars. Your thoughts, love, and support will mean everything to him. However, if possible, please consider making a financial donation. Matthew will be eternally thankful to you.
Sweet had been out on tour with his acoustic trio, doing a mixture of shows opening for Hanson and headlining gigs. After first playing Oct. 1 in Des Moines, the musician began opening for Hanson on dates that began Oct. 3 and were to have concluded Nov. 10 in Los Angeles. Hanson was performing two nights in each location on the tour, the first being an unplugged event with Sweet’s acoustic trio as openers and the second being an electric show with Phantom Planet as support. After the Hanson gigs, Sweet and his trio were supposed to do a few more dates on their own, up to November 16 in Seattle.
Sweet’s timeline shows that his presentation in Toronto was cancelled early on the morning of his scheduled performance, Oct. 13. The following day, all other tour dates were cancelled, with an announcement going out that referred to “a medical illness,” without specifying the nature or severity of what had befallen him.
Sweet, 60, is best known for his 1990s albums “Girlfriend” and “Altered Beast,” which became staples of alternative rock radio, and he has gone on to record well-received solo albums up through his most recent release, 2021’s “Catspaw.” He discusses the record with Variety here. Sweet also recorded three popular albums of covers as a duet team with Susanna Hoffs during the years 2006-2013, labelled “Under the Covers Vols. 1-3.”