If there’s one theme that has always surrounded Grand Rapids-based musician Izzy Reign, it’s Halloween.
The project, built by singer, songwriter and producer Kristin Matzkows, exists in large part because of the holiday. And her sound—a trick or treat mix of heavy guitars, industrial textures, cyber-pop production, metalcore intensity, electronic experimentation and ’90s nostalgia—shockingly works, because they’re all just different pieces of her personality.
“I’m glad I finally got to do something that I truly wanted to do,” Matzkows said. “And it wasn’t so much of doing what everybody else, or what I thought everybody else, wanted me to do.”
For Matzkows, Halloween is a creative philosophy. From decorating her home year-round to working at Spirit Halloween for nearly a decade, All Hallow’s Eve has always been part of her artistic world. “It’s the ultimate creative brain. The sensation, the weather, the feeling, it’s just something that I try to live all year long.”
That passion has also carried into her music, including her now-annual Halloween covers, which helped launch her career when a cover of “This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas unexpectedly exploded online.
Released in October 2020, it went viral, and then mega-viral on TikTok during the pandemic, racking up millions of streams on Spotify and YouTube.
And with her recent success, it may feel to some like Izzy Reign arrived overnight, but Matzkows has actually spent most of her life preparing for this moment. “I kind of grew up in a situation where we had a drum kit in our dining room, so it was always loud and chaotic.”
That chaos became part of her foundation. Her father’s love of drums and rock music filled the house, while her own curiosity pushed her toward experimentation from an early age.
Like many musicians who grow up surrounded by a certain style of music, Matzkows initially pushed back against the sounds that surrounded her. While rock was always present, she found herself drawn toward R&B, hip-hop and electronic music.
“If you peel back the guitars and the real drums and the very real instruments and you listen to just the production, you can very much hear the influence of the things that I grew up loving. I still listen to it all the time.”
Artists like Missy Elliott and ’90s electronic acts remain important pieces of her creative DNA, helping shape the futuristic sound that now exists alongside her heavier influences.
At 15, she found herself inspired by bands that made heavy music feel theatrical, emotional and larger than life.
“I always tell everybody the same thing: the Enter Shikari ‘Sorry You’re Not a Winner’ music video came out, and that was the moment where it clicked in my brain,” she said. “I wanted to play those types of shows. I wanted to be in a sweaty basement with sweaty people and everybody just having this experience together.”
Released in 2023, “Broken by Design” became the turning point, introducing audiences to Izzy Reign’s industrial-meets-metalcore sound. Later released through FiXT, with production contributions from Nick Matzkows and Jon Eberhard, the track changed everything.
Within minutes, she watched her audience grow from a handful of listeners into thousands. “I blinked and every time I refreshed my phone there were thousands and thousands more people showing up. I was freaking out. I was like, ‘What is happening?’”
That momentum eventually led to her 2025 self-titled album and a new chapter as a live act. Building that live show could have been overwhelming, but Matzkows found the right collaborators at the right time.
She quickly assembled a lineup that included guitarist Taylor Roberts from Detroit’s Riding With Killers and drummer Matt Marquez from Norma Jean. “I expected nothing but chaos. But it came together so smooth.”
That smooth transition helped Izzy Reign win the Heavyweights competition, earning a spot at Upheaval Festival. For Matzkows, the victory was emotional.
“I know in my soul how hard I’ve worked for all of this,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for so long and busting my butt for a long time.”
Braving the heat and wildfire smoke at Upheaval, she won over a slew of new fans as mainstage artist Poppy did not perform, and many of her fans found their way to Izzy Reign’s set.
The most remarkable part of Izzy Reign’s rise is not just the music—it’s the community that has formed around it.
Through Twitch streams, Discord conversations, Kickstarter campaigns and online other interaction, Matzkows has built a space where fans feel personally connected. When she performed at Upheaval, fans traveled from across the country and even across the world to be there.
“It was so surreal to meet all of these people and see what the community of Izzy Reign is in person,” she said. “It feels so good to know that the reason I’ve been doing what I’m doing is actually becoming reality. Music is, in my personal opinion, the number one way to connect with people. It is like the ultimate language across the board.”
She hopes to release a new single and music video in October, with a potential EP planned for 2027.
For more, check out izzyreign.com and instagram.com/i.zzyreign.
