It took Mat Kearney nearly a half a dozen albums to title a record with his own name. But sometime in early 2023, as he sat with the exceptionally warm and true songs comprising his seventh studio release, the Nashville-based artist realized that this was the album to make the cut. “In a way, the project felt reminiscent of when I first started making music,” says the experienced troubadour. “But it’s also a culmination of all the art, craft, and abilities I've been honing over the years. I realized it just felt like me.” Being yourself is the work of a lifetime, but a convergence of factors helped nudge Mat a little closer to that goal this time: hard-won independence, a blossoming creative fellowship, and life stress that left him with no other option. The independence was largely a product of Mat having spent ten years tightening his recording game at his own Black Barn home studio, now a well-worn creative hub “with an old piano, dusty cables running into the garage, like a chia pet that keeps on growing,” he says. “It’s like an old friend, where you know their strengths and weaknesses, and you work within their limitations.” Mat leaned in once again with Black Barn, using it to record and produce the bulk of the 12 songs on Mat Kearney. For fans of: John Mayer, Noah Kahan, James Bay, George Ezra, Vance Joy, Dean Lewis, Passenger, JP Saxe, James Arthur, Jack Johnson

The Fray, Mat Kearney, Cary Brothers

The Fray

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