Matthew Sweet Suffers Stroke While on Tour With Hanson; GoFundMe Set Up for His Recovery

Singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet suffered a debilitating stroke while on tour in mid-October, it was revealed on Tuesday, when a representative for his management company posted a fundraising appeal on GoFundMe to support his recovery.

Sweet had been out on tour opening for the group Hanson when he was stricken in Toronto Oct. 12, in advance of a date that was to have taken place there the following night.

Catherine Lyons, who represents Sweet at Russell Carter Artist Management, posted the GoFundMe on Tuesday afternoon, with a stated goal of raising $250,000 for the rocker’s medical care. The effort got off to a good start. As of 6 p.m. PT Tuesday, about 770 individuals had contributed almost $50,000, and by 8 p.m., it was up to $85,000 from 1,400 donors.

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In a statement shared with Variety Tuesday night, Carter, Sweet’s longtime manager, said that his client was back in his home state of Nebraska. “Matthew was quickly admitted to Toronto Western Hospital” on Oct. 12, Carter said, “where he was put into excellent care and taken out of immediate danger. Matthew was transferred to a rehabilitation center back home in Omaha today where he will undergo extensive therapy. He is now on a long, difficult road to recovery. All of us who know and love Matthew have hope for a speedy recovery. Matthew has always been intensely focused and tenacious in all of his endeavors – not only in his recording career, but in all of his artistic and intellectual pursuits. I am confident that his signature determination will serve him well as he focuses now on recovery to good health.” 

Carter continued, “Matthew’s medical expenses in Canada and Omaha are exorbitant and his primary source of income – like most professional musicians – is live touring. He cannot perform for the foreseeable future. We have set up a GoFundMe campaign so family, friends, and Matthew’s amazing network of fans can contribute to help pay his medical expenses.  Please contribute if you can and please repost the link to the GoFindMe fundraiser anywhere you can.” 

Lyons pointed out 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,” further mentioning that Sweet was being “flown back to the States on an ambulance transport plane with medical staff on board, to a specialized rehabilitation center, where he will receive around-the-clock care and therapy for six weeks. He will then require months of treatment and rehabilitation that we hope will lead to a full recovery. Needless to say, the costs for all of this treatment will be overwhelming. We anticipate a total close to a quarter of a million dollars. Your thoughts, love and support will mean the world to him. But please donate financially if you possibly can. Matthew will be forever grateful 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 doing two nights in each city along the routing, with the first night being an unplugged show featuring Sweet’s acoustic trio as opener, and the second night being an electric gig with Phantom Planet as support. After the Hanson shows concluded, Sweet and his trio were to have done a few additional dates on their own, through Nov. 16 in Seattle.

Sweet’s timeline shows that his appearance in Toronto was announced as canceled early on the morning of the day he was supposed to perform there, Oct. 13. The following day, all other tour dates were canceled, 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 discussed that album with Variety here.) Sweet also recorded three popular albums of covers as a duet team with Susanna Hoffs during the years 2006-2013, labeled “Under the Covers Vols. 1-3.”

The GoFundMe page for Sweet’s care can be found here.