The Bandit

The Bandit (aka Matt White) grew up in a small country town called Coonabarabran with a population of 2,700. Growing up as the youngest of six children to a single mother, Matt was influenced early on in his life through music his mother listened to such as Elvis, Patsy Kline and Ritchie Valens. Being the youngest, Matt was always and still is very close to his mother - "My mum is my driving force, she means the world to me with what she has done for me and I hope I can make her proud".
 
Growing up around Coonabarabran was not all fun and games for the young Bandit. Falling in with the wrong crowd at an early age meant he spent a lot of time drifting from detention centre to detention centre. "It's embarrassing to say but I wasted alot of my teenage years doing stupid things and paying the price for it". At the age of eighteen Matt was incarcerated into prison for larceny. It was a turning point in The Bandit's life and he promised himself he would never set foot in that place again. "I thought I was invincible, but as soon as you go into the Big House, you realise you are not. I had to grow up very fast and it was either end up back in there or turn my life around".

Music saved Matt and he re-visited writing poetry and lyrics, something he had done all his life even in his time in Juvenile Detention Centres. "I always wrote songs and poems and raps in my head - sometimes all day and all night". Matt would perform for everyone who would listen - neighbours and friends, who always encouraged him to follow his passion.

The Bandit never thought of entering Australia's Got Talent until a few of his friends mentioned the auditions were coming through Dubbo.."I had nothing to lose and all to gain", he says. Getting into the Top 6 was a dream come true and for The Bandit it's only the beginning. Being one of the most popular artists on the show, Matt has nothing but positive things to say about the experience.

The first thing The Bandit did on leaving Australia's Got Talent was visit the Juvenile Detention Centres of NSW and talk to the kids. "If I can show them what I can do, I hope that I may be able to help them see that it's their choice which path they chose to go down and my motto is you don't get one chance at life, you get lots of chances, you just need to grab these and change your life forever".

Currently in the studio collaborating with a multitude of writers and producers, The Bandit is working on his debut album and is also doing a East Coast run of clubs shows soon.