“Big man! Big presence! Big impact!”
At 6’ 2’’, Matt Andersen is a blues man in an extra-large shirt. Hunched over his treasured Lakewood guitar, long curly hair partly obscuring his face, the first thing that strikes you is the unexpected dexterity of his meaty digits as they tear effortlessly through intricate patterns of notes. Then there’s his voice, sweet vulnerability one moment, a grizzled, guttural roar of inner pain the next, stops you dead in your tracks. Matt Andersen’s raw talent and larger than life showmanship has been winning over audiences in Canada and around the world, including two sold out tours with Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Café. This New Brunswick guitar slinger doesn’t sit still, with lyrics that are storied and picking straight out of the Delta.
2010 was a watershed year for Andersen. In January, he became the only Canadian to ever win the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. “Pretty daunting to go up against 80 other acts from all over the world,” he comments on the surreal experience. “I was blown away to walk away with first place in the solo/duo category.” The win’s instant notoriety was like shooting Andersen’s career out of a cannon. Appearances at the Vancouver Olympic Games were followed by extensive touring in North America, his first trip to mainland Europe (France, Holland, Italy and the Czech Republic) and his fourth circuit of the UK.
Matt Andersen began 2011 on a high garnering Entertainer of the Year and Acoustic Artist of the Year honours at Canada’s Maple Blues Awards before boarding the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise for a week of partying with blues fans in the Caribbean. He’ll release an exciting new CD this year recorded in the Levon Helm studio in Woodstock, New York with Colin Linden producing and Garth Hudson of The Band as guest keyboardist.
Matt Andersen, the big man with the big guitar sound and on the cusp of becoming an international blues celebrity.
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