Mat Kearney Talks Music, Faith, and Playing Shows

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You probably know Mat Kearney's music, even if you're not familiar with the musician himself.  He started gaining a national fan base a few years ago with the single "Nothing Left To Lose" from the album of the same name, and toured relentlessly in support of it, both headlining and as support for acts like John Mayer, The Fray and Jason Mraz.  The video for "Nothing Left To Lose" was in heavy rotation on VH1 and another single, "Breathe In, Breathe Out," was featured on Grey's Anatomy and used as the theme for the TV promos for the show's fourth season.

With all of this behind him, Mat released a new album, "City of Black & White" on May 19th of this year, and started touring to support it. Mat will be here at The Pageant on July 13th, with fellow Nashville musician Erin McCarley supporting.  The first single, "Closer to Love" is doing well on the Billboard charts, both as a Top 40 single and on the Christian Adult Contemporary charts, and the video has just broken into the VH1 Top 20.

I got a chance to speak to Mat recently, and the charted success of "Closer to Love" was one of the topics we covered.  Mat's music has clear allusions to his faith, both on previous albums as well as "City of Black and White," and I asked if it bothered him that he was being labeled by others as a "cross-over" musician who had moved from being a Christian artist to a mainstream one.  He chuckled and said that labeling music is a "funny, dangerous job" - but one he thankfully doesn't have to do.  He explained that his faith is a huge part of who he is, but his music is also a huge part of who he is, and so it's not something that's easily separated.

The conversation isn't always about heavy topics - Mat is cheerful and talkative; confident in his abilities without being immodest.  When discussing what it's like opening for other artists, in front of crowds that may or may not be acquainted with his music, he compares it to a first date and says the whole experience of it builds confidence.  He remembers playing Madison Square Garden and when their set ended, getting a standing ovation and thinking to himself, "Maybe we belong in this arena, just a little."

While Madison Square Garden isn't on the tour schedule this time through, they have sold out shows on this run.  That said, despite all the traveling in the last few months - and no doubt in the months to come - Mat describes City of Black & White as a more mature album than Nothing Left To Lose.  He sees Nothing Left To Lose as his "Jack Kerouac album" - the new album is more about roots and Mat sees it as a more "inclusive" compilation.

The new album is inclusive - and approachable - but the lyrics aren't trite and the music - Mat plays both guitar and piano - manages to stay away from a dreariness that can sometimes accompany songs about love, hope, faith, and heartbreak.  The single "Closer to Love" is musically fun even when the lyrics aren't about happy things, while the title track, "City of Black & White," has a delicate strength to the instrumentation that matches the content of the song perfectly.

As Mat said during our interview, he's been "literally everywhere" - the song "City of Black & White" is about Istanbul, Turkey - and he will be here in St. Louis Monday, July 13th, at The Pageant.  Tickets are $10 at the box office, and Erin McCarley will be supporting.

For more information on Mat, as well as song samples, check out http://www.matkearney.com