If there was a New Brunswick archetype symbolic of a tradition of legend and story telling in music, it would be a man with long hair, a beard and a fiddle, or, in the case of Matt Andersen, a guitar.
On Thursday, January 30, Andersen will be lighting up Max Cameron Theatre stage with a show starting at 7:30 pm. It will be a return journey for the musician who travelled to Powell River with Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe a few years ago.
There was always music in Andersen’s DNA. His grandfather played fiddle; many of his relatives are musicians. It’s a tradition that translates to his music.
There wasn’t much experimentation to find his way among musical genres. Blues and folk rock were how he came up in the world.
Andersen said when he plays New Brunswick, regardless of the venue he’s playing, he always feels like he’s playing in the living room at home, a sentiment that captures perfectly his presence on stage. He keeps coming to Powell River because he says the town gives a good show.
“I don’t do a set list at my shows,” he said. “Not having one gives me the levity to feed off the audience. I’ll play what I think suits the mood in the crowd. I play a lot of folk festivals. They’re the people who still buy physical albums. A healthy collector’s market opened up some time ago and many musicians are pressing vinyl to satisfy this market. I’ve taken to pressing vinyl as well.”
His roots influences include a menu of southern rock, to Great Big Sea, to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Steve Miller. “I opened for Steve Miller a while back. It was a compelling live show.”
Though his previous albums were almost all written on his own, he said the latest album, Weightless, which will be available February 4, was co-written, largely with the help of songwriters Joel Plaskett and Keith Mullins. “This time I decided to do all co-writes. I wanted to make sure I didn’t wind up sounding too much like myself. I’ve co-written with Gordon Lightfoot as well.” Having sold over 30,000 records as an independent, Weightless is the first album he has recorded with a major label.
Anderson has toured with Randy Bachman, April Wine, Loverboy and others. He’s been a headline act himself for years, having won numerous international awards.
Tickets are $26 for adults, $24 for seniors and $12 for youth available online.
