Monte Skelton

EDUCATOR/MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST/COMPOSER/PRODUCER

*Voted ‘2025 Best Local Musician/Band’ in Evansville Living Magazine*

*Kenny Kent Lexus Jazz & Wine Fest 2016 Musician of the Year*

Professional work with:

The Temptations	Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra	Jazz Vocalist Sherrie Bias
Chris Crain	Keith Farny Jazz Collective	Factor:Primo
Owensboro Symphony Orchestra	Skelton’s Montourage	Tales & Scales
Loops & Rhythms	And Many More…	The Spinners

Professional performance experience for:

John Legend

Kevin Hart

ABOUT MONTE SKELTON: THE ARCHITECTURE OF SOUL

Music, like life, is an act of architecture. You start with a foundation, a core belief. You build a structure with experience, and you design a space where a soul can grow. For multi-instrumentalist and composer Monte Skelton, this isn’t just a metaphor—it’s the blueprint of his life. His music, a sophisticated blend of jazz, R&B, and electronic soundscapes, is more than just a collection of notes; it’s the sound of a life consciously and deliberately rebuilt.

It began with a tectonic shift. What was once a solid foundation of faith and community became a slow erosion, leading to a massive earthquake that shattered the very core of his identity. In the disorienting silence that followed, Monte was left feeling unheard, misunderstood, and profoundly alone, haunted by a single, burning question: Did anyone actually care about me as a person, or was I just a puppet, an entertainer with no other purpose?

Losing everything forces you to question everything. For Monte, this painful period became an unexpected gift. It ignited a relentless search for truth, leading him away from inherited beliefs and toward the self-researched wisdom of Stoicism and Jungian philosophy. He found the tools he needed not in dogma, but in discipline: the practice of focusing on what he could control, the courage to identify his own shadow traits, and the commitment to define peace and love on his own terms.

This is what it means to be a “self-architect”: to plan, design, and guide the construction of the self, not from a borrowed blueprint, but from a deeply personal one. For Monte, that meant building a person from the ground up who believes in peace, in constant growth, in true and factual knowledge, and in the kind of love that must first be shown to oneself before it can be shared with the world.

This process of rebuilding mirrors his approach to music. “When I started applying my knowledge of creating music to my own life, that is when things got way better for me,” he explains. Jazz improvisation is about making choices in the moment, responding to the environment based on thousands of hours of practice. Life, he realized, is the same. We can learn to react to the world around us with intention and grace. “The more work we do,” he says, “the more experience we have, the better we will understand how to move with the world around us. Not forcing it to suit only us, as this creates disharmony, but flowing in a way that amplifies the right things and boosts those around us.”

Today, the music reflects the man: more joyful, more complex, and deeply peaceful. It is the soundtrack of growth and forward momentum, built upon the cornerstone of his family. Listeners will hear the entire journey in his compositions—the love, the loss, the rebuilding, the refining, and the mastering. It’s a sound filled with hope and depth, meant to inspire you to see the architectural possibilities in your own life.

When Monte Skelton takes the stage, he’s not just performing; he’s sharing the story of the structure he has built. He’s inviting you into a space of connection and optimism, leaving you with a simple yet profound message:

“Go do something you enjoy. Love deeply, work hard, and stay optimistic. You can do incredible things for yourself and others.”