Matt the Electrician

One Liner:  Fine singer/songwriter tunes from a local guy

Poster Position: 21

Thoughts:  Oh, man, this guy just knew right where to stab a tuning fork into my eighties nostalgia button, with a bluegrass-y cover of Rick Springfield's "Jesse's Girl."  I love that song.  And that is, without a doubt, his most popular track on Spotify, with just over 1.7 million listens.  Matt is Austin-based, which is cool, and has a kind of laid back, folky vibe that matches Austin well to me.  Funny thing is that I'd heard his name over the years, but had never experienced his music.  It is nothing like what I expected, very melodic and kind of quiet.  It's nice.

According to his website, he actually was an electrician when he got started.  He sounds a little like Paul Simon to me, that gentle inflection and nice tone.  Also sounds a little like Bob Schneider.  He has some silly songs ("Bacon Song," as a good example, declares bacon to be healthy and able to help you kick Popeye's ass), but also some really pretty ones, like his second most popular track, the lovely "I Will Do The Breathing," which is from his most recent album, 2011's Accidental Thief.

"I will do the breathing, until you are able to come up for air, I will be the feathers on the wings of the bird, that guides you wherever you need to go."  Damn pretty song.  386k streams on Spotify, and even that jenky live video has 16k views, which is kind of rare for the live videos I've watched for this project.
I've made may way through all of his albums, and he has a bunch (available on Spotify: 1999's Home, 2003's Made for Working, 2004's Long Way Home, 2006's One Thing Right, 2011's Matt the Electrician is Alive, and 2011's Accidental Thief).  They are all pretty good - the live album is nice as well.  Like some of the other people I've reviewed recently, I don't know how this intimate sound will translate to the big stage of the festival, but I bet seeing him play at the Cactus would be amazing.