Matty McRee

Engaging performer with a wide variety of music options. Love taking requests and engaging the audience. Can also provide an acoustic vibe for a more low key environment.

Matty McRee won my heart from the very first note I ever heard him sing. Tucked into the corner of an Irish pub in Charlotte, North Carolina, this rugged-looking kid in jeans and a flannel shirt – yes, really – with an absolutely huge voice was strumming away on a guitar and covering K's Choice. Normally a female lead. I stopped and listened on my way to the loo. Then changed course and went hunting about the bar to find out who this band was.
And so began my musical love affair with Matty's music.
I could write everything that a PR person is supposed to write. That he hails from the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in Greenville, South Carolina, and is a country boy who has made a life out of pursuing the musical dream. That he does it every day, winning fans one by one with his hometown country-tinged rock and a chuckle that will instantly make you smile, even on your worst day.
I could tell you that Matty found moderate local success with his original band Temple Terrace after college, then delved into a solo career and made a move to Nashville, TN where he earned his stripes working backstage for legends such as Marshall Tucker and Charlie Daniels, and opening for alternative darlings Brian VanderArk (of the Verve Pipe) and VH1 Bands on the Run winner Flickerstick. It would also probably be wise to tell you that in 2006, he released his self-funded, self-titled debut album selling thousands of both albums and digital downloads in small clubs and barrooms around the Southeast.
You might even find it impressive that he just released a stunner of a 5-song EP with some songs that are worthy of country and rock gold. I'd be a better writer if I could convince you to buy a record you've never heard with vague musical descriptions like "From the hard-fought, guitar-driven modern day frustrations of 'Just One Night Away' to the pop-perfection love song 'Together,' these songs will stick with you."
But here's the truth: none of all of that matters because what we're really all looking for in music is a connection. And I can tell you from experience that once you see him perform, you'll love Matty's music and you'll love him. His songs tell genuine stories come from real places and speak to emotions that we've all gone through. The songs are based in a world where lovers fight, and people you once loved fade out of your life, but just as much a world where a Friday night at the bar with your buddies is a cure for just about anything. When you see Matty up there on that stage, belting out songs and drawing air from seemingly infinite lungpower, you believe him. You believe the songs. Because he's the real thing, and he loves making music so much that he will play his heart out for three, four and five hours for you – and have a beer with you on his set break. He's just like me and you, fighting to get through to the next day, put gas in the car and hoping to have enough to get to the next gig.
So seriously, folks. Go see my friend Matty. Toss a couple of bucks his way and buy his EP. I will bet that within a few listens you find yourself hitting the back button on your iPod to listen to "Weak", "Stars" and "Voices" two, three and four times in a row.
Matty McRee is just that good.
-- Krissie Callahan, music lover, blogger, marketing specialist and friend of Matty

Can provide own amp and prefer to as well. Prefer there to be a sound man if possible.