Matt Got A New Hat

Matt and his Hat during our first Hillberry Music Festival.  10/13/2019

Matt is known for his Hat.  Matt's Hat.  It is a thing.

Matt having a birthday beer on the deck at one of our favorite breweries.  9/19/2023

Over the past fifteen years, the Hat has basically become an extension of Matt.  If we are out of the house (at a concert, a friend's house, or on a hike) he is probably wearing it*.  

This is the first known photo of Matt's Hat.  It was taken at the 10,000 Lakes Festival.  When I showed it to Matt he was a bit awestruck, saying it "looks SO soft!!"  7/23/2008

On the dancefloor, I'd say he rocks the Hat 99% of the time.  Folks who don't know/recall Matt's name--especially in the live music scene--still remember and recognize him because of that Hat.  I use Mat's Hat as a landmark to find him in crowds--and in concert photos.   

Matt and his brother at the 1,000th Kitchen Dwellers concert.  Photo credit to Adam.  August 2023

Back in 2015, David and Michelle even made a Facebook "Public Figure" page for Matt's Hat.  Matt isn't on social media...but his Hat is!  Friends and acquaintances would snap pics of him out and about and then post the sighting to the Matt's Hat page.  At first, the page was a secret from Matt which led to a lot of fun photo shenanigans.  The page isn't very active these days now that the secret is out.  

This picture from a small brewery concert was uploaded to the Matt's Hat page in April 2018.  It is worth noting how sharp the purple mushroom patch on Matt's Hat still looked when compared to the photo (five down) taken just this year. Photo credit to Casey P.

Matt has a lifelong appreciation for hats.  As a young boy he wore baseball caps like his dad.  In his teens he switched to fedora and panama style hats.  He wore an assortment of hats during our first years together. 

Matt (in a jaunty hat) and Adam at the Gates of the Mountains in 1998.  Photo credit to Sharon.

Matt bought the tan, corduroy hat that would become Matt's Hat at a thrift shop in late June or early July 2008.  It was a fairly random whim.  Matt wasn't looking to find one-hat-to-rule-them-all, so to speak.  He soon added a groovy purple mushroom patch to his new hat....and then a Steal Your Face patch...and so on until the Hat was full.  Then came the pins.  :)  And thus it became the Hat.  Matt's Hat.

Matt and his Hat on a Mesa Verde NP cliff dwelling tour.  September 2017

I couldn't begin to tell you all the amazing music Matt has danced to in that Hat.  From its earliest days at the 10,000 Lakes Festival to repeated Furthur runs at Red Rocks and Broomfield.  To NashPhil and Hillberry.  From big names in huge venues like Roger Waters, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones to fantastic local bands at the small, neighborhood joints, or that time Cornmeal played a free community concert.

Post-concert smiles for miles when the String Cheese Incident came to our hometown this summer.  Photo credit unknown.  August 2023

I also couldn't recount all the amazing wonders of nature Matt has experienced while wearing it.  From the stroll through Fern Canyon to the glory of Glacier NP, the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon, and the larches in autumn. The petrified forest and Grand Prismatic in Yellowstone NP, the towering Tetons, and the autumn colors in Rocky Mountain NP.  From the beach to the desert to the forest to the prairie.  Matt's Hat was imbued with all of that in a way that reminds me of my poem, "Each Sacred Coat."

Matt in the low country at Death Valley National Park. January 2019.

As the years took a toll on the hat, I mended it.  And mended it.  And mended it again.  The hat evolved in color and texture as it absorbed all those sacred coats.

The layer upon layer upon layer of patching is visible on the interior of Matt's Hat.  10/16/2023

At one point, I actually replaced the entire top with new corduroy.  Patching it again wasn't going to cut it.  

See that finger poking through there?!?!  The fabric is just plain worn out!  10/16/2023

Matt was concerned over its obvious impending demise so I started attempting to duplicate The Hat in seriousness last year.  I made three draft hats, none of which quite suited purpose.  

My first completed attempt at making a new hat for Matt.  It turned out to be a swell sunhat...just not as a replacement for Matt's Hat.  I was using the Simplicity S9509 pattern. 2/28/2022

And then Jen K. showed up this summer with a nearly identical replacement for Matt's Hat (though yellow corduroy instead of tan).  She owned one that Matt had expressed a lot of interest in when he saw her wearing it.  Enough time had passed that Matt and I completely forgot about it...but not Jen K!  She bought him one!  Even delivered it to the house and everything!  It was so thoughtful and perfect.  Matt was happy to have such a keen substitute for his Hat and I was happy to give up on drafting a pattern for one.

Matt's original Hat and the new Matt's Hat.   The compare and contrast of the Steal Your Face patches--old and new--is just astonishing to me.  Sorta like my ol' Treehugger Wallet.  10/16/2023

Matt started breaking in the new Hat, testing it out.  It was a fabulous replacement, but still...change is hard, you know?  It was different and it took some time.  He wore it to a few local shows.  He decided it needed patches in order for him to really get a proper feel for it.  So, at his request, I removed the Railroad Earth patch from his OG Matt's Hat and put it on the new Matt's Hat.  I also bought him a new Steal Your Face patch for his birthday.  He wore it to a couple more shows, including Goose at the Kettlehouse Ampitheater.    

Matt and his Hat during our most recent Hillberry Music Festival.  10/7/2023

I think that Matt went all in on the Hat after the Pinky and the Floyd show in late September.  A guy we only know from the dance floor came over to introduce himself during the set break.  He mentioned that he sees Matt out dancing all the time and that he can't miss Matt because of his Hat.  Of course, as they were talking Matt was wearing the new Hat!  So, we figured that it passed the test.  No looking back.  

Matt wearing a mustache made from corn silks--and Matt's Hat, of course!  10/21/2023

Our close friends and family noticed the change, of course.  Almost universally they wanted to know what Matt had planned for the original Matt's Hat.  Everyone seemed united in the desire that it be preserved somehow.  In a shadow box or something.  It struck me as very sweet.  Currently, the OG Hat is on display downstairs near the bar.  No shadow box yet, but we shall see.  

Matt's Hat at the top of the Beartooth Pass.  Photo credit to Bek (or maybe Lacie).  9/3/2018

Matt ultimately took three patches (Railroad Earth, a Deady bear peace sign, and an orange deady bear) off the original Hat for continued use.  I lobbied against this because they were so grimy from years of wear and exposure.  Matt didn't want his Hat to look and feel all brand new though.  He handwashed the old patches and I sewed them on the new Hat.  He was on to something, too.  It is a lovely way to maintain continuity and connection between the two generations of Hat.  It's pretty cool.  I am pleased with how it all fell into place.  

If anything the OG Hat looks even worse now that some of the patches have been transplanted to the new Hat.  And that's saying something!  It was sorta wild to see what color that hat was once upon a time.    10/16/2023

And "just like that" Matt has a new Hat. :)

A collage of AI-generated images of Matt's Hat that our buddy, Derek, sent to us upon learning that there was a new Matt's Hat.  So, so weird....and yet... they made me smile.  11/9/2023

*Matt has a stocking cap for wintery weather.  He has a sunhat for when it is hot.  He doesn't wear it to work.