Matthew P. Tessier

Matt Tessier, a lifelong Louisiana resident, has been involved in the bluegrass music community as a banjo player and vintage instrument collector for the past 20 years.  Like many others, Matt started learning music on the piano at age six but became a banjo player at age 10 after discovering the music of Earl Scruggs.  He has played with many local bands during his lifetime and was featured in the award-winning 2011 documentary short film Fanning the Fire produced by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation.  Matt has worked with the Foundation on nearly all its events as a stage and artist accommodation manager since 2013.  He is an avid watch collector who founded a Facebook group called the Accutron Collectors in 2017.  The group has grown to a membership of 1500 and is now the largest Accutron-specific organization in the world.