Smoking hot guitar, searing blues voice and a delivery that will leave you breathless
“Every now and again you hear an artist that just pulls you up short, stops you dead in your tracks, like being on a top flight cutting horse that can stop on a dime, rollback and give you a nickel in change. Matt Andersen is the whole package and can play guitar, write relevant songs and present the songs in a way that will just bring you to a standstill you and make you listen up”
The best performing songwriters, the ones who sound like they really mean what they’re singing about, tend to come from areas known for hard times and hard work. Like say, Perth-Andover, a rural blue-collar village in the Canadian Maritime province of New Brunswick—the home of acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Andersen.
“Perth-Andover’s a really small, family-oriented community,” says Matt. “Everybody knows everybody. My dad’s worked as a logger pretty much his whole life. But there’s always been music around: My grandfather played fiddle, my mom plays piano in church. Most of my cousins have had bands at some point. Whenever there’s a get-together there’s always about nine or ten fiddles or guitars in the room.”
Matt’s musical household got him interested playing early on and by junior high he was in the school band, first on tuba and later on trumpet. He took up guitar at 14, and before long was playing classic rock and Top 40 covers in pub bands while he studied studio engineering. Things changed dramatically, however, when he discovered the blues.
“Through Eric Clapton I got into B.B. King, which led me to the Chicago electric stuff and eventually back to the Mississippi Delta guys,” says the 30-year-old singer. “What really hit me most about the blues was its total honesty.”
Matt began to build his name on the Canadian circuit, his imposing voice and slashing slide guitar making a monolithic impression on audiences. He debuted with 2002’s One Size Never Fits, and followed with the likewise-warmly received Solo at Session (2004) and Live at Liberty House (2005).
What is it Matt hopes audiences experience when they hear him? “I’m not trying to change anyone’s lives in a big way, but I love it when [listeners] really get involved in the music,” says Matt, performs over 200 shows a year and in 2011 won the Maple Blues Awards for Entertainer of the Year and Acoustic Act of the Year and was nominated for four East Coast Music Association awards. “That’s what really makes it a great night, for everyone.”
Guitar players worth their salt will not miss this show.
Matt Andersen will be performing on Sunday, Feb 12 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available at the box office, by phone at (250) 785-1992 and online. Adults $35, Students & Seniors $30 and Children $20.
