Cousin Wolf is the songwriting project of Matt Halvorson — a father, baseball lifer, abolitionist, and builder of community-rooted art in the Pacific Northwest.
Born in St. Paul and now living off-grid in the forest near Seattle, Matt writes songs rooted in heart and reflection, often combining earnest, poetic lyrics with unexpected intensity. Most Cousin Wolf recordings begin simply: piano or guitar, a voice, and a story that refuses to stay quiet.
His latest single, If I Die in Minneapolis (out 2/27/26), is a stripped-down piano protest song recorded in his home studio, with his partner and children joining for raw backing vocals. Written in response to fascist violence in Minnesota, it’s a father’s declaration of love and refusal — we are the people, and we will never go back.
Cousin Wolf’s 2025 concept album Nine Innings tells nine human stories through baseball, “exploring the gray in a game that is often black and white and the players labeled heroes or bums.” Earlier releases include the acoustic debut Sermons (2020) and the seasonal collections Winter, Spring, and Summer, drawn from the Rise Up Music Project.
Matt is the founder and creative lead of the Rise Up Music Project, an artist-led co-op label designed to generate and sustain human-made music.
Cousin Wolf writes songs that mean something — about grief and joy, systems and love, standing up and holding on.
Photo by Zeke Hill-Halvorson
